


To Own The Piece Undiscovered

by Gyhl



Category: Kingsman (Movies)
Genre: ...do I ever not use these tags...?, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Post-Apocalypse, Alternate Universe - Slavery, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Dark, F/M, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Underage Prostitution, M/M, Multi, Omega Eggsy Unwin, Pain, Rape/Non-con Elements, Slavery, Torture, WIP, brief humiliation, man I need my happy endings okay, planned but it should end up there, ships are mostly planned rn and may change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-07
Updated: 2020-01-18
Packaged: 2020-02-27 14:58:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 9
Words: 48,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18741373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gyhl/pseuds/Gyhl
Summary: Civilization is dead. Long live Civilization.In the aftermath of some great cataclysm, packs have come together to form loose colonies that are little more than gangs and war bands. In this world, Omegas have become little more than slaves to their Alphas/Betas.One such slave is Eggsy. Presumably abandoned as a small child, Eggsy has been left to the mercy of Dean Baker's gang of Betas for most of his life. Then comes the day when, during the end throes of his heat, Eggsy encounters an Alpha for the first time. An Alpha who, even chained up and at the less than tender mercies of Dean's mutts, is far stronger than any Beta Eggsy's ever seen in his life. An Alpha whocallsto him.





	1. Chapter 1

01

He rolled over in his bed and whined. The food he’d squirreled away had run out two days ago. Now he was out of water. Based on how he felt, he still had another three days to go. Three days. He could make it without food, but not water.

That would mean going out of his room. That would mean going into the compound.

Eggsy shuddered. He _hated_ being at the mercy of his body. He _hated_ that once he was down there, he was gonna respond to _any_ strong scent. Wasn’t any Alphas in the gang, no, but a couple of Dean’s boys smelled almost as strong as one.

It didn’t help that he _knew_ what would happen if _they_ caught _his_ scent. It was _why_ he was hiding. He’d learned it when he was fifteen and had his first fuckin’ heat. Dean had just… _let_ his boys go after him. They’d chased him all over the compound until he couldn’t run anymore, and a couple of them were as good at parkouring all over it as he was. Then they’d fallen on him, one after the other. There’d been a couple fights between some of the more aggressive Betas, but they hadn’t been nearly as vicious with each other as, say, a pair of Alphas might have been.

They’d left him where they’d fucked him, laying in a heap until he’d regained enough strength to move, to go hide. He’d been hiding in his room, afraid to come out again, when he’d heard the door open. One of the Dogs - one of Dean’s lieutenants and one who _hadn’t_ taken a turn with him - had come in with food and coaxed him out of his hiding place. He’d taken care of Eggsy, helped him feel a little more at ease… and then, of course, forced Eggsy down and taken his turn. Only his turn hadn’t ended when he came. He’d forced Eggsy’s head to the side and bit him.

Eggsy had screamed and made renewed attempts at bucking the Beta off of him. But the damage had been done, and when he was let up, he scurried away, hand over the bleeding wound. He whined and sniffed at his wrists. His scent had already started changing as his body reacted to the claiming bite. He belonged to the Beta now, and that was more terrifying that just being the low man in Dean’s gang.

He very quickly learned that his fears had been fully justified. The Beta was brutal enough on his own, both physically and sexually, but the bond he’d forced had made it worse. He’d catch fragments of thoughts - truculent, angry thoughts - and Eggsy would be beaten so badly he couldn’t leave bed for days.

And then his second heat had come. The Beta… his _husband_ , his _owner_ … had fucked him, bitten him again to renew his claim, and then taken him into the compound. He’d _charged_ the others for a turn with _his property_. And they’d paid it. Some paid in rations, some paid in ammo, or drugs. And he did it every day of the heat.

Eggsy was one of only five Omegas in the compound. Their owners only let the others use them during their heats. There was that small mercy, at least, but Eggsy came to quickly fear when he felt his body ramping up for it and he was just grateful that it was only four single weeks a year.

He’d been seventeen when his _husband_ had died out on a run. He locked himself away during his heat and waited until his body realized it was no longer claimed, no longer owned. He went out only at night, and only when he needed to. His first trip out he found a length of thick chain and nicked a lock from the prison area. He wrapped the chain around his neck, looping it around so that his neck was mostly covered, and then locked the loops together.

He wasn’t going to be bitten again. They might be able to catch him and fuck him, but they wasn’t gonna own him. He was his own again; his _thoughts_ were his own again. He wasn’t gonna let _anyone_ ever hit him cos of his thoughts again. Never.

He’d somehow made it through almost ten years - almost forty fucking heat cycles - without being bitten again. He’d even made it through the last three cycles without being fucked. He’d gotten really fucking good at getting food and water set aside so he could just stay locked in his fucking room. Those cycles had been week-long masturbation sessions where he just wanked it and ate.

But this cycle? Oh, fuck, this one was _bad_. He hadn’t managed to bring himself to orgasm, at all. He could feel it inside of him, like a fucking itch he couldn’t scratch. He needed to be _fucked_. He’d already been like this for a week, and felt like he normally did after the first couple days. 

And that was a _huge_ part of why he did not want to leave his room. Because he _knew_ he’d react, whether he wanted to or not. Being fucked by them all was one thing; his body needing it so badly he’d… well, not _want_ it, but close enough… was another thing en-fucking-tirely.

He checked the lock on his chain collar and opened the door ever so slightly. He didn’t smell anyone nearby and he crept out. His heart was hammering in his chest and his eyes darted around as he checked every place someone could be and every possible exit. It wasn’t far to the kitchens. Just down a flight of stairs, turn left, down that hallway, turn right. The most closed off section would be the stairwell.

He took off at a jog. He was far too aware of the fabric of his trousers on his thighs; far too aware of it as it pulled back and forth over his cock; far too aware of the chain on his neck. He bit back a needy whine and took a long, slow breath. He was at the bottom of the stairs. He would be back in his room in less than five minutes. He could strip the trousers off and try, fucking _try_ , to take care of this.

He started down the hall and got to his first turn, but he didn’t take it. Instead his hand grabbed the wall and his head tipped back. He whined weakly and shuddered. There was a fucking Alpha nearby. Close enough that he could smell him. And it was definitely a him. There was something very… _male_ … about the scent he was getting. It was _warm_ and _heady_ and _oh, fuck_.

It was a bad idea, a _very_ bad idea, but he turned toward the scent and walked _away_ from his planned destination. He was breathing hard, almost panting. Every base, instinctual part of him _needed_ to go to the Alpha. And Eggsy found him in the common room.

He was in the center of the room, on his knees. His chest was bare and Eggsy could see a large, swirling tattoo that started on his upper arm, went up the back of his neck, and tapered off on the back of his bald head. His feet were bare and Eggsy could see where the Alpha’s ankles had been shackled to the floor. Another chain came down from the ceiling and was looped around his neck, forcing the Alpha to stay awake and up on his knees.

Eggsy took a couple slow, quiet steps around him and saw that his wrists were bound and chained to the floor. Even in the servile position the Alpha had been forced into, Eggsy could see the fucking heat in his eyes, the command, the power. Fucking Hell, _this_ was an _Alpha_ , and if the guy hadn’t been chained up, Eggsy woulda rolled over and begged for his dick.

“Bit tall for an Omega slave, aren’t yeh?”

Eggsy looked up at his eyes - because his eyes had been faaaaar below the Alpha’s - and stared for a moment. The Alpha had hazel eyes. _Beautiful_ hazel eyes. Hazel eyes that would be looking down on him while he suc... Eggsy shook his head, trying to push the image away.

“What…?”

The Alpha’s brow rose. “Yer voice is a bit deep, too.”

Eggsy went over the words the Alpha had said, processing them finally. “Oh. _Oh_. No, I ain’t… I’m intact.” He shook his head.

“Yeh’ve got a collar on.”

“Oh, that…” He touched it, his fingers almost stroking the lock. What would it feel like to have an Alpha’s teeth in his neck? To be pounded mercilessly by _his_ cock? Eggsy looked away from him and took another long, slow breath. “Well… I don’t… wanna be claimed. That’s all.”

“And the Alpha here? He’s alright with that?”

“Beta,” he said with a shrug. “Ain’t no Alphas here… ‘cept you… And he don’t care. I ain’t worth nothin’ so…” He shrugged again.

“Why not?”

“Ain’t no one’s. Just… found me as a pup. Never found no one who’d lost a pup, so he couldn’t ransom me. I go out on runs when I’m… when I’m feelin’ okay, but I’m more trouble than I’m worth on those.”

“Why not sell you then?”

“Cos there’s only five of us here.”

The Alpha nodded. “You’re kept just to be fucked.”

“Yeah.”

“I see.”

Eggsy felt himself tremble at the way the Alpha was staring at him. He knew it was obvious he hadn’t had a good fucking in a while. “I ain’t… so good at doin’ what I’m told,” he muttered, feeling the need to justify himself.

“Clearly.”

He really… just wanted to get on his knees. He wanted to prostrate himself in front of the Alpha; lick his knees, his thighs, work his way up to- _Oh, fucking shit_. “I need. To go. Sorry. You.”

He took a breath and turned to leave. And then realized they weren’t alone anymore. A couple of the Dogs were in the doorway. He turned and saw another in the other doorway. He backed away from them.

“Outta your room finally?” one drawled as he came forward.

The three of them walked toward him; they fucking _stalked_ like predators. He looked to the doors, trying to figure out if he could manage to dart around them and get out before they got him.

“Try it, Eggsy,” one of them laughed. “We yell for the boys, and you’ll be gettin’ fucked by more than three of us.”

He shuddered. “Okay, okay… Just… don’t yell for them. Okay? I’ll be good.”

He tipped his head back and looked at the ceiling as they pulled his trousers off, wanting to go somewhere else mentally. The trousers were all he’d been wearing. He felt a hand wrap around his cock and pull, hard. He cried out in pain but didn’t try to make the men stop. He _knew_ they’d yell for the others if he did.

“Already hard, boys.”

They forced him down to his hands and knees. Eggsy felt one of them press a finger inside of him, and then a second. He couldn’t stop himself from arching toward the hand, from trying to fuck himself on it.

“Wet little boycunt, ain’t ya?”

He pushed a third finger inside of Eggsy. Eggsy’s head fell back and he moaned. The shame was _clear_ on his face, even as he felt himself spreading his legs wider. He felt the fingers withdraw and he whined, unable to stop himself. A moment later he felt one of the cocks being thrust inside and he ground back against the owner with a cry.

“I _knew_ you wanted it.”

Eggsy couldn’t stop himself from reacting to what his body so desperately needed. He met every thrust, trying to wiggle in place so that he could get off, where that fuckin’ _itch_ could be scratched. But hands pushed him back down every time. He whined and tried to grind against the first one when he came, but he was pushed away and the second one mounted him. He was barely aware of it when the third one took his turn. That one let Eggsy wiggle into a good position.

Eggsy did most of the work at the point, thrusting back at his assailant and fucking himself. He was barely aware of his own cries, or of the attention they were drawing. He clawed at the floor, trying hard to dig his nails in without considering it was wood under his hands and not flesh. He felt a hand on his face, and he turned his head toward it, biting at it.

He cried out, loudly, as he came and felt the man fucking him finishing. He couldn’t hold himself up and was flat on the floor by the time the man was done. He felt the cock withdraw and then the spray of warm cum on his back. He make a weak sound of protest, but otherwise lay still, panting from the fucking he’d gotten. He was barely aware of them leaving.

“You should go back to hiding.”

He moaned softly. The voice was warm like fucking honey. He struggled to sit up and then lay still. “Can’t.”

“Eggsy, listen to me.”

The Alpha’s voice. So warm, so _insistent_. Had the Alpha fucked him? And then it dawned on him that no, no the Alpha had _not_ fucked him. The Alpha had been chained up and been watching while three of Dean’s dogs fucked him. And he’d screamed like a whore through it all.

His face burned with shame. He’d needed the fucking, yes. Oh, _fuck_ , had he needed it. But he hadn’t wanted it from _them_. It wasn’t ever gonna stop now, was it? Not now that he’d proved that he ‘liked’ it. They’d brush aside any and all protests that it was just his _body_ reacting. Probably until he believed it, himself. Until he was just as broken as the others.

“Eggsy.” 

He looked at the Alpha, and then lowered his gaze.

“The noise is certain to have attracted attention.”

“Yeah,” he agreed quietly.

“Go back where you were hiding.”

He shrugged and got, unsteadily, to his feet. “What’s it matter? You saw what happened. I liked it, right?”

“No, your body reacted to what was being done to it. Nothing more.”

Eggsy looked at the Alpha, at those beautiful hazel eyes. He still wanted to lay in front of him. He closed his eyes and shook his head. “Sure you tell your Omegas that, too.”

He made an offended sound. “ _We_ don’t treat ours like that.”

Eggsy laughed, weakly. “Sure.” He sighed. At least the need was… maybe not _gone_ , but _satiated_ … for the time being. He could actually _think_. Even in the face of the Alpha’s fucking scent. “Look, I’ll… I’ll see if Dean’ll let me get you some water or somethin’.”

“I’m fine.”

Eggsy nodded. “Yeah, sure.”

He sighed and went back up to his room. He curled up. When he was younger, he used to wish that some Alpha - or maybe even a Beta who was stronger than Dean - would show up. Show up and tell him that he had family who wanted him back, who hadn’t meant to lose him. But it had never happened. And it never would.

02

He made himself go back downstairs in the afternoon. He felt… more like himself again. More _over_ his fuckin’ God-awful heat. The others didn’t bother him, not beyond normal, anyway. So he really must have just… needed a fucking.

He found Dean in the common room. Not… surprisingly, he supposed. Not when Dean had managed to capture an Alpha. He thought about just leaving. There’d be no tending to the Alpha if Dean was there.

And Dean wasn’t alone. A number of the gang were in there. Eggsy just migrated to the back, to where the other Omegas were together. He was the only one of them who wasn’t claimed; the only one who wasn’t just staring at the ground or the wall.

Dean waited until he had a sufficient audience. “Name,” he snapped at the Alpha.

Eggsy shivered when he heard the Alpha laugh. He laughed as if he wasn’t bound on his knees, looking up at his captor. He laughed as if he knew he’d be ripping his captor’s throat out with his teeth.

Dean struck him across the face. The Alpha’s expression never changed. “I said, name.”

The Alpha smirked at him. “Second in command, 2191612-b.”

Dean stared at him, and then looked at Rottie and Poodle in turn. They both shook their heads. Dean didn’t like it. It felt like a joke being played at his expense.

“Rank. Serial number.” He laughed up at Dean. “Which _ought_ to clue you in to the fact that we’re a _military_ faction.”

Dean’s eyes lit up. A military faction meant guns, meant ammo. Also meant a better base of operations than his fucking compound. “Where’s your people?”

“Section R, 23-Alpha.”

Dean struck him again. “You either talk or you’re gonna die.”

The Alpha laughed again. “I don’t believe _I’ll_ be the one dying.”

“You think you can threaten _me_? In _my_ territory? While _you’re_ the one in chains?”

“Yes.”

Dean nodded to one of his boys, who brought him a whip. Two others unlocked the chain holding his wrists. They clipped it to the chain above his head and unlocked it from around his neck.

Eggsy looked away. He heard the first crack of leather on flesh… but heard no scream. A second, a third. A _fourth_. A _fifth_. Eggsy looked over. He could see where the Alpha’s back was freely bleeding now. A sixth, and Eggsy saw the Alpha’s arms tense, his hands clench against the chain. By the tenth strike, all Dean had gotten from him was a quiet grunt, and Eggsy was openly staring.

He’d _never_ seen anyone take ten hits in almost total silence. He watched, utterly in _awe_ , as Dean hit him ten more times. The Alpha couldn’t stay silent through it, but he kept it to pained grunts and never cried out. Dean kept going and Eggsy saw the Alpha turn his head against his own arm. Eggsy lowered his head for a second, because the Alpha must have lost his fight to not cry; fuck, he would have lost his long before the tenth hit. But then he made himself watch the rest.

By thirty, both the whip and the Alpha’s back were a bloody mess. Eggsy could see the sweat all over the Alpha’s body. Based on how his shoulders were moving, he thought the Alpha had to be crying heavily, silently. _Fuuuuck_. Even though he’d lost the fight to not cry, Eggsy was still in awe of the man.

Dean kicked everyone out of the common room and he went off to drink. Eggsy gave it an hour before quietly creeping back. He let himself in and shut the doors before going over to the Alpha and kneeling in front of him.

His hazel eyes were full of pain and anger, but Eggsy saw no redness, no telltale swelling around them. He did, however, see a smear of blood on the Alpha’s mouth and cheek. He looked the Alpha over, and saw his arm. The Alpha _hadn’t_ been crying; he’d taken to biting down on himself to keep silent.

“Fuck me,” he whispered.

“Perhaps later.”

Eggsy looked at him and then away, smiling a bit. “Yeah, you get out of them chains, take me far the fuck away from here, an’ you c’n fuck me whenever you like.”

“You shouldn’t make offers you don’t know if you want to keep.”

Eggsy sat up on his knees and started emptying out his pockets. He had some cloths, two small bottles, and a little jar. “Bruv, if you _really_ treat your Omegas better ‘n this? I’ll do whatever you what.”

He poured some from one of the bottles on a cloth and started gently washing the blood from the Alpha’s face and arm. He picked up a second cloth and poured from the second bottle. Merlin could smell the alcohol and watched as the Omega cleaned the bitemark. Eggsy opened the jar after and spread something medicinal smelling on it.

“Should help keep it from gettin’ infected,” he said quietly before gathering up his things and moving to the Alpha’s back.

“You’ll have to take the collar off,” the Alpha said after a while.

Eggsy sighed. “Yeah…”

“I can understand not wanting one of these… _lovely_ … people claimin’ yeh, but…”

“My thoughts are my own,” Eggsy said quietly. “They’re the _only_ thing that’s mine. I ain’t gonna be beaten for ‘em again.”

The Alpha tensed and then sighed. “Yeh were claimed before.”

“Yeah.” Eggsy worked in silence for some time, cleaning the blood off of the Alpha’s back. He took the alcohol to it next. “So, um… what’s Section R?”

“An area of a map,” he said. “It’s where my people are.”

Eggsy grinned. “A map your people have, yeah?”

“That’s right.”

Eggsy laughed softly. It was clever. He’d answered what he’d been asked… just in a way Dean wouldn’t have understood. He touched an unmarked part of the Alpha’s back. “You know… he’s just gonna do it again, and again.”

He sighed irritably. “I had a feeling, yeah.” He looked up at his wrists. “Fucker couldn’t use rope, could he.”

“No… he says it’s too easy to get out of.”

“Do you know where he keeps the key?”

Eggsy shrugged. “On him or in his room. Or with one of his lieutenants.”

“Wonderful.”

The Alpha’s back seen to, Eggsy gathered up his things and went back around in front of him. “Can I… do anythin’?”

The Alpha eyed him for a moment. “I’d say ‘get the key’, but you’d probably try to.” He went on without letting Eggsy deny it. “And then we’d both be in chains. Only then, I’d have to rescue _you_ on my way out.”

“No, you wouldn’t,” Eggsy said truculently.

“It’s would be a matter of honor.”

“Yeah, cos that matters to any-fuckin’-one.”

“It does to me and mine,” he said.

Eggsy watched him for a moment. The Alpha seemed so _serious_ about it that he actually believed him. He actually believed this Alpha would _save him_. Eggsy offered him a small smile before leaving.

03

It was either very late that night or very early the next morning. Eggsy wasn’t sure which to call it. All he knew was that the last of Dean’s boys had fucked off to bed finally. All that was left were the night guards, and Eggsy knew their routes well enough to know how to get around them easily enough.

He took his time, keeping a slow count in his head to know when he needed to duck into what room, and made his way back to the common room. The Alpha was asleep, his wrists still held above him. Eggsy touched him, and that was enough to wake him up. That angry gaze fell on him and Eggsy lowered his own gaze. 

“Eggsy… What’re you doing?”

“Well… knew there wasn’t no way I was gettin’ the key…”

“Yes…?”

He held up a pair of small pieces of metal, one of which was thin and pointed. “So… I’m gonna pick the locks.”

“Yer gonna…” He looked up at the lock on his wrists and nodded. “Hurry.”

It took Eggsy less than a minute to get his wrists unlocked. He carefully lowered the Alpha’s arms as he took the chains off of him. He went to rub the Alpha’s arms, to help him with the pain and get the feeling back, but he heard one of the guards pass by the room. Either he’d gotten off his count or he’d taken longer unlocking the Alpha than he’d thought.

Eggsy got behind him and started working on the shackles. The angle was bad for them and it took him longer than he would have liked to get them both undone. He helped the Alpha to his feet and then pulled his shirt off. He had a second shirt under it and waited, anxiously, as the Alpha pulled the - somewhat small - shirt on.

“This way,” he hissed. 

He took the Alpha by the hand and led him through the compound. It wasn’t the first time Eggsy had ever sneaked out before. He managed to get them both back to a side entrance. It was the closest entrance to the guard barracks. They usually left the door unlocked so they could slip in and out more easily. Eggsy heard someone coming and pushed the Alpha into the barracks.

“What’re _you_ doing down here?”

Eggsy turned toward the voice and forced a smile. It was one of the three guys who’d fucked him in the common area. “Well… I just…”

“Came down lookin’ for more cock?”

“A...actually… yes.”

He looked surprised. “Really?”

“Well, it… it felt so good…” He heard the shame in his voice and felt the heat on his cheeks. “I.. you know…”

He smirked and pushed Eggsy up against the wall. “Realized you really _are_ nothin’ but a boycunt?”

“Yeah…”

He grabbed Eggsy by the jaw and squeezed. “Say it, bitch.”

“I’m nothin’ but a boycunt.”

He stepped back. “Face the wall and drop ‘em.”

Eggsy turned around and undid his trousers. He let them drop and then braced himself against the wall. He just hoped the Alpha would take advantage of the distraction and leave. He waited; waited for the hands on his body; waited for the feeling of a cock being forced inside of him. Instead, he heard the snap of small bones and a thud, and then someone was pulling his trousers up for him.

He looked over his shoulder, and then down at the floor. The guard lay crumpled on the floor, his head at an unnatural angle. The Alpha - _fuck, why did he have to smell so good_ \- was right against him.

“Seemed quicker to just kill him.”

Eggsy nodded and led him to the door. “There. There’s… another hour or two before shift change. They’ll notice by then.”

“Alright.” He went through the door and looked back at Eggsy. “Are yeh comin’ or not?”

“You’d really take me?”

He nodded. “I said I would.”

Eggsy looked back once, to be certain he hadn’t been seen again, and rushed out the door after him. The Alpha took him by the hand and led him. Eggsy kept his free hand on the Alpha’s arm, just above his wrist. Alphas were the hunters - they were better at night than Omegas. Eggsy wasn’t exactly nightblind, but there was only starlight and moonlight. It wasn’t nearly enough for him to see well.

“River,” the Alpha said to him after quite some time.

Eggsy felt the cold water splash over his feet as he stepped into it. The riverbed felt silty beneath him and the few rocks he found were slick. But he kept pace with the Alpha, following him silently and obediently. The river rose and Eggsy quickly found himself up to the waist in water.

He wasn’t sure how long they went upstream before the Alpha led them out of the river. By the time the sun rose, the Alpha had led them into a forest. Eggsy… had never been this far from the compound. He hadn’t even realized there _were_ forests left. He’d seen pictures in a book, but… never _seen_ one. He really wished they could stop and look at things, sniff at things. But the Alpha wasn’t slowing and he didn’t think he had the right to ask.

The sun had passed its zenith when the Alpha finally slowed and looked around. His lips were parted enough that Eggsy knew he was scenting the air for… something. All he could smell was _green_ and wet earth… and the Alpha.

He seemed to find what he wanted and he led Eggsy again for a minute before stopping and looking around. He crouched and lifted up… a piece of the ground? It took Eggsy a moment to realize it was a well camouflaged hatch.

“Inside,” he barked.

Eggsy let himself down through the hatch and stepped aside so the Alpha could, too. He waited, silently and in total darkness, until he felt a hand on his again. He let himself be led somewhere deeper. Then the Alpha pulled him forward and put his hands on something… soft? Eggsy felt it over. It was a bed. He got on and lay down, expecting to feel the Alpha’s weight on him shortly. 

“Close yer eyes.”

Eggsy obeyed and, a moment later, it was bright enough that he could see the light through his closed eyes. He covered them with his hand until they adjusted and then peeked out. They were in a fucking bunker. The Alpha was already searching through containers.

“Catch.”

He tossed Eggsy a bottle of water and a pack of… food? Eggsy opened it and sniffed at it. It _smelled_ food-like.

“Pour enough of the water on it to make it a bit soupy and give it a couple minutes.”

Eggsy nodded and did as he was told. He watched as the… whatever it was… sucked up the water and expanded. He watched until the Alpha started eating his own and then tried it. It had a weird texture. Sorta… like bread but wetter. And it had a strong taste. A strong taste of… _something_. A good something, just a something Eggsy didn’t have a name for.

He found himself licking the container.

“We’ll sleep here and set off again tonight.”

Eggsy nodded.

The Alpha watched him for a moment. “Missing home?”

“No… um. No, sir?”

The Alpha laughed softly. Eggsy felt heat shooting through him and he had to look away. His body had calmed down, sure, but apparently it wasn’t _entirely_ calm. He could already feel the laugh working through him, getting him hot and hard.

“Is it manageable?”

Eggsy looked back at him. He’d sounded… concerned. Eggsy looked away again. “I’m sure you c’n manage it.”

“I’m sure I could; that isn’t the question.”

Eggsy frowned a little. “Yeah, it’s… manageable. Should be almost done, anway.”

The Alpha nodded. “Lay back, get some sleep.”

Eggsy looked back at him. The Alpha had laid down where he’d eaten and already seemed to be asleep. On the floor. Eggsy lay back on the bed. It felt so _wrong_ that he was on a bed while the Alpha was on the floor. It took him quite some time to drift off. Because he _knew_ what this was. He’d wake up to the Alpha on top of him, fucking him and wanting to claim him. He touched the collar on his throat, the collar he’d been told he’d have to give up.

He’d give it up when they made him; when they cut it off of him.

04

He woke up to the Alpha’s hand on his shoulder. He stared up into those lovely fucking eyes. The Alpha wasn't on top of him, but they weren’t all that far apart. He pushed himself up on his elbows, planning on kissing the Alpha he’d agreed to give himself over to. But the Alpha backed away as soon as he moved, and just handed him another pack of food and more water.

Eggsy made the food up, and watched as the Alpha packed up supplies. He ate silently, slower this time. “Sir…?”

“What?”

“Are we… really far still?”

He shook his head. “No. We’ll be there by tomorrow afternoon.” He looked over at Eggsy. “My name is Merlin, by the way.”

“Merlin,” he repeated softly. 

“Aye.” He offered Eggsy his hand. “Let’s go.”

He led Eggsy back out of the bunker and into the forest. It was dark already. Eggsy breathed in the smell of green and earth as he was led by the hand. They never _left_ the forest, and every so often the Alpha - _Merlin_ \- would warn him about a branch or something similar.

It was just before dawn when they left it. Merlin let go of him, and Eggsy stayed in step behind him. Merlin never turned to be certain Eggsy stayed there; Eggsy wondered if he was being tested or if his Alpha just… didn’t give a fuck. He didn’t ask, nor did he push Merlin to see if he _did_ give a fuck. Eggsy remembered all too well what it was like to be owned. He figured he wasn’t being beaten or fucked (yet), so he was doing good.

Eggsy had been watching his back - okay, his arse - while they walked and had paid little attention to the time. But when Merlin slowed to a stop, so did he. Only then did he look around Merlin. There was a little fortification. Nothing… impressive or military looking about it. It kinda looked like… something a scavenger would set up.

“This it then?”

“Mmhmm.” He waved Eggsy forward and put a hand on his arm. “Now, my pack leader, his name is Arthur. He is…” Merlin laughed softly and tipped his head. “He’s going ta be furious. But nothing is going ta happen to you. Alright?”

“Yes, Merlin.”

He eyed Eggsy for a moment and then nodded. He knew Eggsy was just agreeing with him because he felt it was expected. But that would have to be enough for now. He took Eggsy by the hand again and led him into the little fortification.

There was only a pair of tiny rooms in the place, and a ladder leading down into a single room basement. Merlin led him to one of the walls and pressed in three places. The wall popped open and he brought Eggsy inside the _actual_ compound.

There were more of the lights that had been in the bunker. They were stopped at a guard station. A small Omega boy - who looked all of fourteen or fifteen - looked at Merlin, looked at Eggsy, and then ran off. Eggsy watched him, curiously, and barely heard a word the guards said to Merlin. 

“Well, Arthur knows I’m here,” Merlin grumbled as they started down the corridor.

“How…?”

“Yeh saw that young man who ran off?”

“The kid…?”

Merlin snorted a laugh. “That _kid_ is about your age.”

Eggsy nodded. “Oh. So he ain’t… intact.”

Merlin shook his head. “No, he and five other Omegas caught the eye of our _last_ Arthur. He had them monitored until they were near their first heat cycle and then…” Merlin shrugged, leaving it unsaid that the last Arthur had seen the boys castrated.

Eggsy tipped his head in a half-shrug. It wasn’t that uncommon of a thing for an Alpha or Beta to fix their slaves. Enough people Dean dealt with had them. Eggsy thought there were certainly benefits to it; they never went into heat, for one thing. But they stayed small and short, looking and sounding almost feminine. And they became utterly obedient and docile to their Alpha.

He touched the collar he still hadn’t taken off. He woulda rather died than be like _that_. Though he wondered if what he’d agreed to would be much different. He’d agreed to do _whatever_ Merlin wanted.

Merlin stopped in front of a door, sighed, and opened it. Eggsy was assaulted by the scent from within. It was a _strong_ Alpha smell, and the scent under it was earthy and almost sweet. It pulled at him, and he would have been fine with going toward it… but the smell of _angerworry_ was so strong under it that he fell back behind Merlin.

Merlin led him inside and Eggsy got his first glance at Arthur. His hair had the eternally tousled look that came with soft curls. His dark eyes were focused on Merlin. Utterly, completely _focused_ on him.

“I’m _fine_ ,” he protested before Arthur could speak.

“You’re in a shirt that’s too small for you, have no shoes, and I can _see_ the marks where you were chained by your wrists.” Arthur took two strides toward him. “And I can _smell_ your blood.”

Merlin sighed and made a show of rolling his eyes. “So I got a little sidetracked.”

“ _Sidetracked_.” Arthur huffed, and then finally noticed Eggsy. “And who is this?”

“He got me _un_ sidetracked.”

Arthur’s lips pressed into a tight line. He stared at Eggsy. “How bad was it?”

Eggsy met those dark eyes and looked away quickly. He’d never had to deal with the _presence_ of Alphas before. He’d never realized there really _could_ be the urge to obey them. He had to bite down on the _need_ to tell him that Merlin had been whipped, in silence. He took a step closer to Merlin, to try and make his Alpha’s scent drown out the pack leader’s scent.

“Well,” Arthur said after a moment. “I’ll find out quickly enough as it is. Keep your secret for now, if you like. But you’re off duty until I say otherwise.”

“Pulling rank on me now?”

“Yes.”

Merlin sighed and pulled the shirt off. He turned so Arthur could see his back. Arthur made a soft sound and went to him. He touched Merlin’s back. “Darling…” He sighed softly. “You’re off duty. Go to medical.”

“Harry-”

“Don’t ‘Harry’ me.” He looked at Eggsy. “Take your new… friend… with you. He should probably be looked over.”

Merlin grumbled as he pulled the shirt back on. “I’ll do that, Arthur.” He paused, locking gazes with Harry for a moment and giving him a pointed look that neither Eggsy nor Harry understood right away. “Come along, _Eggsy_.”

Eggsy looked curiously at Merlin. He started to follow Merlin out and then looked back at Arthur/Harry. The Alpha was staring at him in this _odd_ fucking way. This odd, almost _angry_ way. Eggsy _really_ hoped he was just still angry with Merlin. He didn’t know what about having his name given would upset the Alpha. Maybe the pack leader gave Omegas new names? Maybe he was angry that Merlin was, like, subverting his authority.

He decided that must be it and followed Merlin out. The next time he saw Harry, he’d make sure to ask what he should be called if not Eggsy. He didn’t want this new place… with these many, many Alphas… to be like it had been in the compound.

They went down to medical and Eggsy stayed by Merlin… until the doctor came over. The doctor was an Omega and he was projecting his scent. The scent was soothing, calming, and he kept his gaze below Eggsy’s own.

“Would you come with me, please? Just over there.” He pointed to a bed not far from the one Merlin was sitting on.

Eggsy nodded and let go of Merlin. It was another Omega; that was fine. That… wasn’t going to be dangerous if he was away from his Alpha. He followed the Omega doctor and sat on the bed. The doctor pulled a curtain around them, giving them the illusion of privacy.

“From the strength of your scent, I would assume you’re in the later stages of a heat cycle.”

Eggsy nodded. “Yeah. Longest one I’ve ever fuckin’ had.”

The doctor raised his brow. “When was the last time you had sex?”

Eggsy shrugged. “Couple days ago. But… months before that.” He paused and then added, in a sulky tone: “I was takin’ care of it.”

“With penetration?”

Eggsy tipped his head slightly. “...does that matter?”

The doctor nodded. “Oh yes. That would be why this is, as you termed it, the longest one you’ve ever had. It doesn’t… complete properly… without it.” He eyed the collar. “I’m… a little surprised, both that an Omega slave would refuse and that you would have a heat to begin with.”

Eggsy rolled his eyes. “I just didn’t wanna be claimed, alright? I know I gotta… take it off now.” He lowered his head and his voice. “Merlin ain’t said to yet, so I’m just… not.”

The doctor looked surprised. “Merlin has… said he plans on claiming you?”

“Not in so many words, but yeah.”

“Is Harry aware of this?”

Eggsy shrugged. “I dunno. Your pack leader decides that here?”

“No, Harry is Merlin’s bondmate. If _he’s_ claiming you…”

Eggsy sighed. That explained Harry’s anger about him. He was the Unexpected Addition. He was either replacing the Alpha (and who in their right fuckin’ mind would give up having the _pack leader_ as their bondmate for a worthless Omega?) or he was gonna be bonded to them _both_.

“Is he…? I mean… Merlin seems alright…”

The doctor smiled gently. “Harry is a wonderful man. You’ll be well taken care of.” He paused. “Well, then I suppose I needn’t make you something to… help you through it.”

“Whatchu mean?”

“A phallus intended for masturbatory purposes.”

Eggsy stared at him. “How would you even…?”

He nodded behind them. There was a shelving unit inside the wall with glowing buttons on it and a display. Eggsy had never seen anything like it before.

“Old world tech. Merlin is a wizard, I swear. He looks at the stuff for a few minutes and figures out how to fix it. He managed to get some of the matter-energy converters running.”

“No shit, really?” he hissed.

The doctor nodded and smiled wistfully. “Yes. You’ve really… got an excellent pair of bondmates.”

Eggsy looked toward the curtain, to where he knew Merlin was. It wasn’t _really_ gonna be that good. But… he’d agreed to it. “I guess we’ll see about that.”


	2. Chapter 2

01

Merlin took Eggsy back to his flat within the compound. Eggsy shivered; Merlin and Harry’s scents were _thick_ in the home. It was a small enough flat; two bedrooms, a bath, and a lounge. He showed Eggsy into the second bedroom and showed him the closet.

“Extra blankets are in there if you want ‘em.” He led Eggsy back out to the lounge and showed him the matter-energy converter. “Have you ever used one of these?”

Eggsy shook his head.

“Alright, it’s easy enough… assuming you can read?”

“Yeah, kinda.”

Merlin nodded. He pulled up the categories on it. “Food, you can get clothing from this menu, if you need anything else… I’m sure you can find it.”

Eggsy nodded. He wanted to go through every menu. Maybe he could find more of that stuff Merlin had fed him while they’d been traveling. And then he could just… explore the fucking thing.

“Now, I know I’m ‘off duty’, but I have work to get done. You’ll be alright here.”

“Yes, sir.”

Merlin smiled a little. “I _should_ be back before Harry. If I’m not, you don’t need to be afraid. Harry won’t hurt you.”

Eggsy nodded. He didn’t believe it, but he wouldn’t tell Merlin that. Merlin had been good to him so far and he didn’t want to give him reason to stop being so. He waited until Merlin left and then went back to the matter-energy converter. He poked around in the food menus and found a word he’d never seen before: dessert. He thought maybe _that_ was the thing he’d eaten on the way that he had no name for. 

He poked through the ‘dessert’ listings. So many words he didn’t know; words like cherry, strudel, chocolate… Chocolate seemed to be a big thing in the ‘dessert’ listings, so he ordered some plain chocolate.

A bar materialized. He picked it up and poked at it. It was a wrapped bar, like a ration pack. He wondered, as he unwrapped the bar, if ‘dessert’ was just Old World speak for ‘rations’. And then he bit into it. He sighed in pleasure, leaning against the converter.

“Oh, my _fuck_ ,” he whispered.

He was torn between wolfing the damn thing and just working at it as slowly as he could. And he could have this _anytime_. Well, unless Merlin locked him out of the dessert menu. Clearly, the goal was to be good enough to _not_ be locked out. He wandered around his new home as he slowly ate the chocolate bar. The small bites melted in his mouth and he explored the texture of it as he wandered.

He ended up in the bedroom. The bedroom Merlin and Harry so clearly shared. Their scents were so much thicker in here, and there was the smell of sex. It was such a strange concept to him, that a pair of Alphas might prefer to fuck each other… especially when one of them was the pack leader and had access to position-inherited slaves. Like he _got_ Merlin’s end of it, but he did _not_ see what _Harry_ got out of fucking another Alpha.

Except… 

Except maybe the powertrip of having another Alpha submit to him.

And _he_ was going to be in the middle of _that_.

Great.

He sighed softly. What was the best way to ingratiate himself to Harry without being obvious and licking his boots? Some way he could do it without making it look like he was crossing _his_ Alpha?

He looked at the bed. He nodded to himself and stripped. He told himself they had matter-energy converters here. Merlin wouldn’t _need_ to rent him out for rations and shit. And Merlin was _fucking the pack leader_. Merlin wasn’t wantin’ for nothin’.

He pulled back the covers and got into their bed. He snuggled up in them so that he could smell nothing but the Alphas; their scents; their arousals; their sex. He moaned softly, his eyes slipping closed. He knew at least part of it was being in heat and the instinctual reaction to the smell of Alpha.

But it helped. Oh, _fuck_ , did it help. He felt himself getting hard and getting wet. He’d never ‘marked’ his territory before, but he remembered all too well how his _husband_ had ‘marked’ his. He rolled in the covers, rubbing his face and neck and wrists against them. He nuzzled up to the pillows, wanting the Alphas to smell him even there.

He reached down and touched himself. He closed his eyes again and started stroking himself, picturing those hazel eyes and that honey-warm voice. Maybe it wouldn’t be _bad_. Maybe he’d be more than a hole to fuck and a bitch to trade for whatever. Maybe he’d even be treated alright, like the doctor thought.

He tried to picture it, picture what it would feel like to _really_ want someone’s cock inside of him. To be pounded into a bed, feeling that same need, but without the shame. He arched up against the covers. _That_ was his fantasy: simple, consensual sex. But it was something he’d never had, never really heard of an Omega being allowed.

He thought about what it would be like to have Merlin scent marking him. Not the quick, almost painful way his _husband_ had done it. But gently… slowly… Like he was something Merlin wanted to keep safe. He touched his cheek, stroking it the way he thought such an Alpha might. 

“Oh, _fuck_ ,” he whispered against the pillow.

His bit back a cry of pleasure as he came. He felt the spreading dampness above and below him. He smiled a little. Now the bed would smell of him, of his arousal, of his cum, of his slick. That should make them want to protect him, right?

He sighed softly and realized he didn’t want to leave the bed. He wanted to stay wrapped up in the Alphas’ scents. He was attracted to Merlin; there was absolutely _no_ denying that. _Maybe_ it was just the heat, but the man was fuckin’ fit. It was a little frightening of a realization, because he’d never _been_ attracted to someone before. 

He tried to not think about all the ways being attracted to an Alpha could go badly; all the ways wanting to please one could fuck him over. Instead, he just settled in and closed his eyes, wrapped up in the good smells of two Alphas. They’d be happy if they came home to him sleeping in their bed. Sleeping _naked_ in their bed.

And a pleased Alpha wouldn’t beat on him so badly, right?

Right?

02

Harry ended up home before Merlin. He was a little surprised to not find Eggsy in the flat. That… worried him a little. Had the young man run off? Or had Merlin just kept Eggsy with him? He’d check that before searching for Eggsy.

He went into the lounge to get a cup of tea from the converter, and then he caught Eggsy’s scent. He followed it and found him, still in their bed, still asleep. The smell of his sex still hung in the air and Harry had to bit down on a soft growl that wanted to come. Assuming this _was_ the same Eggsy, this was Michelle’s son, Lee’s son. And, on top of that, he’d clearly formed some attachment to Merlin. Whatever his instincts wanted him to do - namely, wake the Omega up, fuck him, and claim him - he had to push that aside.

But he was a lovely sight, curled up in their bed with a slight smile on his lips. It was almost like he belonged there. Harry turned to leave and heard the young man stir and yawn. He looked back over his shoulder.

“Hello, Eggsy.”

“Hello, sir.”

Harry shook his head. “Harry is fine.”

Eggsy sat up, letting the blanket fall and pool on his lap. “Did you want somethin’, _Harry_?”

Harry’s eyes followed the lines of Eggsy’s body, down to his hard abs. He just _had_ to come to them in heat. A later stage of it, sure, but still there. And the Omega had kept his voice soft, his gaze below Harry’s own. Harry put his hand on the doorframe and gripped it tight. He was _not_ going to give into his instincts and fuck this lovely, young, _submissive_ man.

“I’d… been looking for Merlin.” Harry paused. “Do you know where he is?”

Eggsy looked away from Harry. Merlin had gone back to work, even against Harry’s orders. Did he tell his pack leader? His Alpha’s bondmate? Or did he keep his Alpha’s secret? The real question was… who would hurt him _less_?

Harry caught the sudden spike of fear in Eggsy’s scent and shook his head. “You needn’t tell me. It’s fine. Really.” He smiled gently. “You never need to answer a question, Eggsy. You’ll be safe.”

 _Lies_.

But Eggsy nodded. “Yes, Harry.”

“And unless Merlin has, for whatever reason, said otherwise, you aren’t required to sleep in our bed.”

“Oh.” Eggsy shifted uncomfortably. “My husband… when I had one… He always insisted.”

“I see.” Harry eyed him for a moment. “Is that why you keep a collar on? You miss your husband.”

Eggsy made a sour face before he could stop himself. “No, hated the fucker. Was glad when he died.” He sighed and shrugged. “I know it’s gotta come off; Merlin said as much. But…” He got up from the bed, letting Harry see him completely. “With it bein’ on… and you bein’ Merlin’s pack leader… I mean, he can’t really say you ain’t allowed to fuck his Omega when he ain’t claimed ‘im yet.”

Harry had to bite down on his instincts again. He had some very serious doubts that he was being offered sex because the Omega actually wanted it. He also wasn’t about to take the Omega his bondmate had, apparently, decided to claim.

“He can, and so can you.”

Eggsy smiled at him; it was a very clearly indulgent smile. “Sure.”

Harry knew he’d been right to doubt Eggsy’s offer. Clearly the young man had received some very brutal treatment in his life. Not that such a thing was unusual for Omegas. “Well, I’m going to go hunt Merlin down. I will see you when I’m home for the evening.”

Harry left him, pulling himself away from the heady scent of an Omega in heat, and went to find Merlin. There were three places he thought to look, all of which were duty stations. He found Merlin at the second one.

Merlin barely gave him a glance before returning to his conversation with one of his people. He finished what they were discussing - another recon mission to the section he’d been in - before going over to Harry.

“I know,” Merlin said. “But we’re no closer and I’m not just going to sit by id-”

Harry held his hand up. “That isn’t what I’m here about.”

“Oh.” Merlin eyed him for a moment. “Then what did you need, Arthur?”

He nodded toward the back of the room and brought Merlin back there. He looked to make certain no one was near them. “Are you certain it’s him?” he asked quietly.

Merlin shook his head. “I don’t know, Harry, but he’s the right age and has the right name.”

Harry nodded. “Please don’t take this the wrong way… but I will not have you claiming him.”

Merlin laughed softly. “I wasn’t planning on it. Even if he _isn’t_ the same one, Harry…” he shook his head. “Three Betas raped him while I was chained up. It was _normal_ to him. I couldn’t leave him there.” He sighed. “And he… helped me escape.”

“Be careful with him, darling,” Harry said gently.

“I plan on it.”

“He called himself _your_ Omega.”

Merlin tipped his head back. “I was… actually afraid of that.” He sighed. “He offered to let me have sex with him whenever I wanted and to do whatever I asked if I took him away.”

Harry frowned slightly. “Does anyone else know his name?”

Merlin shook his head.

“Let’s keep it that way until we’re certain about him. Michelle does _not_ need to know about this until then.”

03

Eggsy had been alone for a bit when there was a knock at the door. He looked over at it, uncertain what he should do. They knocked again and Eggsy went over to the door. He opened it just enough to look out. There was a Beta woman there. There was something… something _soothing_ … about her scent.

“My Alphas ain’t here,” he said softly.

She nodded. “I know. They’re out dealing with the current mission.” She looked him over. There’d been talk all over the compound of Merlin bringing back an Omega. An Omega who was apparently going to be living with him and Harry.

“Could I come in? I just… want to talk.”

He looked away. Would they be upset if he talked to a Beta? They hadn’t told him he wasn’t allowed to. “Okay…” He stepped back and let her come inside.

She followed him into the lounge area and took a seat. There was something about his scent that she… just did not like. Something a little… repulsive. It wasn’t something she could put a finger on, exactly. She watched the way he moved, the way he sat, trying to figure out what it was.

“So, um…”

“There were other Omegas where you were, yes?”

He nodded. “Yeah, four others.”

“Small pack?”

He shrugged. “They just didn’t keep many of us around.”

She bit her lip. “Was there one… named Lee? He wouldn’t have been there for more than five years.”

He shook his head. “No, ain’t had a new one in a long time.”

She sighed and sat back. “I was a little afraid of that.”

“He run off?”

“No,” she said, her features darkening slightly. “Our last Arthur sold him.”

Eggsy curled his legs under him and folded his arms on the back of the sofa. He lay his head on his arms and just watched her for a moment. “Sold your property without askin’, huh?”

“He sold my wife, my _bondmate_ , without askin’.” She sighed softly. “He sold my _lover_. I dunno how your old pack looks at things, but I love my bondmate.”

He smiled wistfully at her. That was like… _the_ fantasy right there. Having a bondmate who _loved_ him, who’d be upset if the pack leader just up and sold him. “So why’d he sell ‘im then?”

“Because Chester was a piece of shit.” She sighed. “Harry did something twenty years ago that he never forgave and had been subtly punishing us for ever since. That was just… the last thing he did.”

“Sounds like he woulda got on with Dean.” He paused. “My old pack’s leader. ‘cept he didn’t do ‘subtle’ punishments.”

She wasn’t surprised. She’d grown up thinking Omegas weren’t worth shit. But then she’d fallen in love with one, and then she’d met James. James was the only Omega in the Kingsman Guard - it was what Chester had never forgiven. She’d gone on enough missions with him over the years that she knew not to doubt his abilities.

She shook her head. “Things are… different here. Now that Harry’s taken over, anyway.”

Eggsy shivered and curled up a little tighter. Harry still scared him. He didn’t know where he stood with the Alpha, or what his role in their little family unit was going to be. “Yeah? I know he ain’t… pleased… with me bein’ here.”

Her brow rose. “I’m sure it’s not that.” She eyed him. Maybe it was just missing Lee, but he reminded her of him. Especially in the eyes. “And if he _is_ an arse about it, come tell me. Roxy and I’ll kick his arse for you.” She paused. “We’re two of the few females in the Guard.”

He smiled a little. He didn’t know why, but he _believed_ her. He _believed_ she’d attack Harry over him. Something in her scent made him just… willing to believe her. “So, who do I go lookin’ for?”

“Michelle.” She smiled. “Who do I tell him I’m kickin’ his arse for?”

“Eggsy.”

She stiffened and sat forward, her eyes searching his face intently. “You said ‘Eggsy’?”

He flinched back from her. “Yes, sir.” He looked down and tried to make himself smaller. “Harry didn’t like it neither.”

She scooted across the sofa and put a hand on his cheek. She made him look back up at her and studied his face. He definitely had some features that were like Lee’s own. But Eggsy was dead. Or… or that’s what _Chester_ had always maintained. She held her other hand out; it was shaking. “Could I have your hand please?”

He offered his hand and she took it. She brought it close and scented his wrist. She frowned slightly. Whatever the issue was with his scent, she wasn’t getting it from his wrist. Her eyes widened slightly and she looked at him again.

“Are you in heat?”

He nodded. “Yes, sir.”

It was the scent of his heat. That was what was repellant to her. _The scent of his heat_. That made it very likely that they were close blood relatives. That made it very likely that he was _her_ Eggsy. Her lost baby. Her ‘dead’ son.

“Oh my God,” she whispered in a rush. For the first time, she wished Chester was still alive, solely so she could kill him.

She wanted to pull him close. She wanted to hold in, to touch him, to scent mark him and let him mark her. And she wanted to go tear into Harry for not fucking telling her immediately. But Eggsy was so _nervous_. She didn’t want to frighten him further.

“Oh God,” she whispered again. She shook her head and forced herself to take a deep breath. “If you don’t want to stay with Harry and Merlin, you don’t have to. I don’t care if Harry’s the pack leader.”

He lowered his gaze shyly. “Why are you…?”

“Cos…” She shook her head. “Cos I am.” She started gently petting his face, touching his cheeks, his temples, his jaw. She realized what she was doing after a moment and stopped. She wanted _her son_ marked with _her scent_. The way he _should_ be. “Sorry. I should have asked first.”

He shrugged. “Yeah, probably.” He watched her for a moment. “Merlin ain’t… gonna take it out on me though, is he?”

“No.” Her eyes narrowed. “Why do you think he would?”

“Cos… he’s my Alpha?”

She frowned. “Is he now.”

He nodded slowly. “Yeah. Why?”

She sighed softly. “Well…” She shook her head. The words ‘cos I’m your mum’ stuck in her throat. What did Eggsy _believe_ about his family? Would hearing that make him more afraid? “Could I hold you? I promise you Merlin won’t be angry.”

He blinked at her. Could she… _hold_ him? Fuck, when had anyone ever wanted to _hold_ him? He nodded a little and leaned against her. He felt her arms going around him and he snuggled against her. He felt her petting him again, running her hands over him and getting her scent on him, marking him. The way she was touching him - gently, tenderly, non-sexually - was something new and alien to him. But it was nice.

They were still sitting like that when the door opened. Eggsy startled up and away from her, his eyes wide and heart hammering. Both Alphas were there. Both Alphas were looking at him, at them. They exchanged a look and then Harry shook his head. He looked… amused? And Merlin… was smiling a little?

“It’s alright, Eggsy. Go ahead and cuddle with her if you want.”

He eyed the Alphas for a moment before Michelle put her hands on his shoulders. He let himself be guided back into her arms. He felt himself calming down against her, felt his heartbeat slowing.

The Alphas each took a seat; Merlin took one closer to Eggsy. They just watched the Omega relaxing against Michelle. Merlin knew Eggsy had no reason to expect gentle treatment from a Beta, or _anyone_ for that matter. He doubted the young man had any reason to _trust_ it. And yet, there he was, in Michelle’s arms and relaxing against her. It was, to him, as good as a genetic scan.

“I should have realized word would get back to you,” Harry said.

“Yeah. Shoulda.” Her words were short, clipped. 

“You _do_ understand why I did not… rush to tell you, I would hope.”

She eyed Harry for a moment. She wanted to snarl at him, but she did understand. If he’d come to her and told her they had Eggsy, and then they later realized he wasn’t _her_ Eggsy… it would have been like losing him all over again. She sighed and nodded.

“Yeah, I… yeah.”

Merlin eyed her for a moment. “Have you…?”

Michelle shook her head. She hadn’t told him; hadn’t been able to.

“Eggsy, would you like to go with Michelle? Live with her?” Merlin smiled gently. “I can guarantee you she’ll never make you go to her bed and she’ll never beat you.”

“She’s nice,” he said softly. “Do you want me to go with her?”

Merlin shook his head. “It’s not my call, lass. It’s _yours_.”

“I told you I’d do whatever _you_ wanted.”

Merlin went over to him and knelt beside the sofa. “I’m not going to hold you to that, Eggsy. You saved my life and I saved you. That… makes us even.”

Eggsy eyed him for a moment. He was still _drawn_ to the Alpha. The Alpha who’d taken ten hits in silence and then bitten himself to keep from crying out. The Alpha who’d reassured him and told him to hide himself. The Alpha who’d protected him. And even if Merlin _said_ he wasn’t holding him to it, Eggsy wasn’t sure he believed it.

“Could I still… see her sometime?”

“You can see her whenever you like. You aren’t a prisoner.”

“Then I wanna stay…”

Merlin looked at Michelle, silently asking for permission. She nodded. She knew, whatever Eggsy thought, Merlin would be good to him; he wouldn’t hurt her lost baby. And if it made him feel safer to stay with Merlin then, even as much as she wanted him with her, that’s what was best for him.

“Then you’ll stay with me and with Harry.”

Harry stood and put a hand on Merlin’s shoulder. “Why don’t we give them some privacy?”

Merlin stood and gently touched Eggsy’s cheek. The younger man definitely had a growing attachment to him, and he couldn’t say that he didn’t feel… responsible… for Eggsy. “We’ll just be in the bedroom if you need one of us.”

Eggsy watched the two of them go into the bedroom. Michelle was still petting on him, touching him with her hands and wrists, scent marking him. And his Alpha had just… said nothing about it. He lay against her, just feeling… safe.

04

Eggsy stayed in his room while his heat finished off. He was… more than a little surprised when the Alphas just _let_ him stay in there. Once he was certain it was over, he ventured out into the flat again. It was only a matter of days before he had Merlin and Harry’s habits down a bit. Enough so that when Merlin came home, Eggsy already had the matter-energy converter set to make him his cup of coffee.

He got up when he heard the door and doubled-checked that it was Merlin getting home before telling it to make the coffee. He reset it for Harry’s tea and took the cup to Merlin. He offered it to him with what he hoped was a servile smile. He knew he was probably being a little _too_ eager to please, but Merlin had been good to him so far. He didn’t want to give his Alpha a _reason_ to hurt him.

Merlin took it with a gentle smile. “Thank you, Eggsy.”

Merlin watched as Eggsy settled beside him on the sofa. He was close enough to touch but not touching. He’d angled his body so he was turned toward Merlin without actually facing him. His hands were folded in his lap and his head was down. Merlin stroked Eggsy’s cheek with the back of his hand. Eggsy looked up at him with something of a nervous smile.

“Where’d you learn that?” he asked gently.

“I found a book… in one of the menus. ‘The Good Omega’s Guide’?”

Merlin laughed softly. “So you’re just… going to sit there and wait for me to tell you what to do.”

Eggsy nodded. “At least until Harry gets home. Then I get him his tea.” He paused. “And I’m supposed to have dinner ready, too. Do I tell it to make it right then? Or do I wait?”

“You didn’t strike me as the type.”

Eggsy shook his head. “I don’t… understand…”

“The type of Omega who’s happiest when everything is planned out for them.”

He shrugged. “If it makes you happy…”

“Why does that matter?”

Eggsy shrugged again and looked away.

Merlin touched Eggsy’s jaw and gently guided him to look at him again. “Please tell me.”

“If you’re happy with me, you ain’t gonna want to beat me so much.”

Merlin nodded. “So… even if living like that makes you miserable, it’s… still better than being beaten all the time?”

“Yeah…”

He put his arm on the sofa back and turned so he was facing Eggsy. “Alright, you need to really understand what living here means, especially for an Omega. Harry has some… views… that most of us found really strange at first. Most of us have come to see things his way. Those who haven’t, well, they live here, so they have to follow his rules.”

Eggsy nodded. “Okay…”

“First thing, Harry feels the entire view of Omegas as a slave class to be… eh… let’s called it ‘outmoded’. Maybe _before_ the cataclysm it worked, but it doesn’t _now_. We have to rely on each other too much for that.”

Eggsy nodded slowly. “So… what does that mean?”

“It _means_ you aren’t a slave here. Omegas work alongside the Alphas and Betas here. That’s only been the case since Harry took over the pack, of course, but it has worked out well.” He paused. “You met one of our doctors. He isn’t the only Omega who holds a job like that.”

“And… I could do something like that…?”

Merlin nodded. “It would just be a matter of learning what you like, or what you’re good at.”

Eggsy shook his head and shrugged. “I’m good at runnin’ and climbin’. And takin’ a beatin’.”

“Well… I suppose that’s a place to begin.” He paused. “You don’t… have anything you _like_ to do?”

“I ‘unno.” He leaned his head back against the sofa and sighed. “Wasn’t ever really… a lotta time to just do somethin’ cos I liked to. Was either tryin’ to get food and water, or hiding away from… from them doin’ what they always did, or sometimes going on raids with Dean and the others.”

“Then why don’t I have a friend show you around tomorrow? He could take you on a sort of… in-depth tour.” He paused. “An _Omega_ friend.”

Eggsy’s brow rose. If it was gonna be an Omega friend, he probably wasn’t bein’ sent out to fuck whoever it was. “Okay…” He paused. “You know… I _can_ just stay here… Just be a good Omega and… you know…”

“Wait for me to get home, so you can wait on me and be fucked as I like?”

Eggsy laughed softly, nervously. “Sorta… yeah.”

“I admit, there _is_ a certain appeal to you waiting at home, wanting nothing more than to tend to my _every_ need. But…” He stroked Eggsy’s cheek. “I’ve been with Harry for too long, Eggsy. I would need you to _want_ that.”

Eggsy shivered. Right in this moment, he _wanted_ that. Something about Merlin’s scent, his voice, his eyes… it made him _want_ to submit to Merlin. And not just because he’d offered himself up in exchange for being taken away from Dean. He tipped his head against Merlin’s hand and sighed. “So I go… and… tour, yeah?”

“Yes. Maybe stop in after and visit with Michelle a bit?”

“Yeah, okay.” He smiled a little. “I’d like to see her again.”

“You _do_ understand you’re allowed to visit her without waiting for someone to say as much?”

Eggsy shrugged. “I guess?”

Merlin chuckled. “It’s alright. I know it’s going to take time for you to adjust. Harry and I will, of course, give you all the time you need for that.”

Eggsy put his hand over Merlin’s own. “You don’t have to…”

Merlin pulled his hand away from Eggsy’s cheek and twined his fingers with Eggsy’s own. He didn’t only feel responsible for the Omega; he felt protective of him. But given how he’d met Eggsy and how Eggsy had left their bedroom, he wasn’t surprised by the feeling.

“What kind of Alpha would I be if I did that?”

“A normal one?”

Merlin laughed. “I suppose, yes.”

Eggsy eyed him for a moment. “Can I ask you somethin’...?”

“Of course.”

“Why _do_ you want me to see Michelle?” He shook his head. “Ain’t that I mind. I really _do_ like her.”

Merlin watched him for a moment. “That really isn’t anyone’s place to answer except Michelle. You’ll have to ask her.”

Eggsy nodded. He could always ask her when he stopped in tomorrow. He kinda wondered about her, and why she made him feel so safe and protected. Beyond the fact that she’d just… scent marked him out of the blue and held him until she’d needed to leave.


	3. Chapter 3

01

The next morning, after Merlin and Harry left, Eggsy went over to the matter-energy converter and just… looked at it for a few minutes. He pulled up a menu, stared at it for a few more minutes, and then told it to make it for him. He picked up what he’d made - a simple set of lockpicks - and set them aside and started going through the menus again.

He found what he’d been looking for and just… looked at it for a few moments. He pushed the button and then looked at what it had created. It was a thin, steel collar. The metal was set in a herringbone pattern to give it flexibility. It was thin in the back, widened along the sides, and then came down in a ‘v’ in the front. It locked in the back and, for the most part, looked like a piece of jewelry.

He looked at the door, suddenly certain that Merlin or Harry would burst in on him. He shivered and thought about putting the collar and the lockpicks in the matter reclamation unit. He let out a shaky breath after a minute and picked up the lockpicks. He tried to listen to both the door and the lock. After a couple failed attempts, he sighed and put his back to the converter. He could _see_ the door, even if what he was doing could be seen _from_ the door. He’d only have an instant to hide what he was doing if one of the Alphas came in; it would have to be enough.

It took him less than a minute to get the lock open. He pulled the lock out from the links and pulled the chain off of his neck. He felt naked without it. More than that, he felt _vulnerable_. He tossed the lock, picks, and the chain into the matter reclamation unit. It made a not unpleasant sound as it converted the materials back into energy and stored it.

Even as it was doing that, he put the new collar on and locked it. It was lighter and it moved with him much more easily than the chain had. He went into the bathroom and looked in the mirror. It certainly _looked_ more like jewelry, and it still covered the sides of his neck. As long as it was on, it would keep him from being claimed.

He looked down at the key in his hand. He could toss _it_ in the reclamation unit. It could still be cut off of him and, if it came down to it, he knew Merlin would just make something to cut it with. But there was something… attractive… about keeping the key; about being able to take it off, or let someone take it off of him.

He _really_ liked the thought of it… Of Merlin’s hands on his shoulders; of that lightly rolling accent at his ear, _asking_ him for the key. Eggsy tipped his head from side-to-side, wondering if Merlin would be a right-side or left-side biter. Would he do it cold? Or would he wait until _his Omega_ was on the verge of coming and do it then?

He shivered at the thought. He didn’t _want_ to be claimed again. He didn’t _want_ that bond again. But at the same time… _fuuuuck_ , he _wanted_ it. It was a deep, almost instinctual need that he’d never realized existed within him. 

He knelt down and got into the cabinet under the sink. He dug around and felt along the boards. The board to one side was just loose enough for him to push out a little; enough so that he could get his fingers inside of it. He slipped the key between the boards at about the center. It made the board bow outward a little, but not noticeably so.

He grinned and set the things under the cabinet the way they’d been. He figured the Alphas would expect him to hide the key in his own room. He figured they’d never think to look in their shared bathroom. He went out into the lounge, pleased with himself, and waited for Merlin’s ‘Omega friend’.

He didn’t have to wait all that long. It had been just over a half an hour when the knock came at the door. Eggsy went over to the door, felt his hair over and smoothed his shirt. He’d read in the book that ‘ _an Omega’s appearance reflects their Alpha’s care; always be neat and tidy_ ’. He opened the door and got his first look at Merlin’s ‘friend’.

The ‘friend’ was as tall as the Alpha. He had neatly slicked back brown hair, hazel eyes, and a well-scarred bite mark on his neck. He didn’t look as old as Merlin; he might have been ten or fifteen years younger. But what Eggsy really wanted to know… was what in _fuck_ was it with all these tall, gorgeous men in this pack? Was it a _requirement_?

“Hello, Eggsy,” he said with a smile. “My name is James. Merlin told me you’d be expecting me.”

Eggsy nodded. “Yeah. You’re… takin’ me around or somethin’.”

He nodded. “Indeed.”

“So, um… you actually… you _like_ it here, yeah?” he asked as he stepped out into the corridor.

“I do,” he motioned down the corridor and started walking, “but then, I _have_ lived here all of my life.”

Eggsy eyed him for a moment. “And when he does that-” he motioned to the side of his neck “-you… you actually want it?”

James laughed. “I _know_ how it sounds, believe me. When I was growing up, I…” He sighed and shook his head. “Well, I’ve a feeling that what I was anticipating was closer to your reality.”

Eggsy shoved his hands in his pockets and looked down. “So… your Alpha… he ain’t…”

James shook his head. “Alistair has never forced himself _or_ his claim on me.” He smiled. “It wasn’t _only_ Harry taking charge of the pack that changed things for us. It was… already happening. I was hardly the only happily claimed Omega.”

“And Harry an’ Merlin? The fuck’s that about?”

James laughed. “Harry’s a bit of a deviant.” He paused and eyed Eggsy. “It isn’t about the power trip, if that’s what has you concerned.”

“It is, yeah,” Eggsy admitted, nodding a little. “Ain’t no Omega wants to be in the middle of two Alphas.”

James put a hand on Eggsy’s shoulder and squeezed. “Harry is a rather forward thinking man, and Merlin has come around to his views on… most of the things I’m aware of.” He let his hand drop away. “Harry is the entire reason I’m a member of the Guard.”

Eggsy stared at him. “ _You_?”

James grinned and tipped him a wink. “Twenty… four years now, I think.”

Eggsy was quiet for a moment. “You’re what Harry did that Chester never got over, ain’t you?”

“Yes, I am.” He rolled his eyes. “He felt very strongly that an Omega belonged in the home and taking care of the pups, or in their Alpha’s bed without complaint. You may have met one or more of Arthur’s… slaves.”

Eggsy nodded. “One of ‘em, yeah. Chester had ‘em fixed. I’ve seen others like that before. Utterly obedient to their Alpha.”

“Yes. Even after five years, Harry still hasn’t managed to convince one of them to act without his approval.” He paused. “If Harry _wanted_ to have an Omega to beat and rape, he has six who couldn’t refuse him.”

“He could be just tellin’ ‘em to say they ain’t bein’ treated like that.”

James chuckled. “Yes, except that Harry has a standing order for all of them that they are to be open and honest with other members of the Guard. We’re to be informed immediately if Harry harms them _or_ if he tells them to hide something from us. And Harry always has someone with him when he meets with them.”

Eggsy shook his head. “So… Harry… the _pack leader_ … has his own people makin’ sure he doesn’t… what? Break his own rules when it comes to his private slaves?”

James nodded. “Harry is an honorable gentleman, Eggsy.”

Honor. Merlin had told him that was important to this pack. Eggsy laughed softly. The idea that it could be important to an entire _pack_ felt really… _weird_. But then, how many people in Dean’s pack had a sense of honor?

“So…” he began after a moment. “Is that what this tour was supposed to be? Just you tellin’ me that I ain’t gotta worry?”

“Oh, Heavens, no,” James laughed. “Harry had a thought for something you might enjoy. You are _not_ required to, of course, and I can show you other things if you’d like.”

“Where we headed then?”

James eyed him for a moment and then smiled. “I’m taking you to meet my daughter.”

02

James took Eggsy down to the training room. Several members of the Guard were in there, including one petite woman who was no older than Eggsy. Eggsy and James stayed off to the side, watching as she sparred with another Guardsman; one who was not only taller than she was but bulkier, as well.

Eggsy watched with a grin as she took her opponent down. “Feisty lil’ thing, innit she?”

“She ought to be,” James smiled. “That’s my daughter, Roxy.”

Eggsy eyed her for a moment. So this was the other woman who’d be willing to go against Harry over him. He didn’t get it; he hadn’t even _seen_ her before. What made him so fucking special?

Roxy came over once her sparring match was done. “Mum.” She nodded to James and then looked at Eggsy. She held her hand out. “You must be Eggsy.”

“That’s me,” he said with the beginning of a grin, reaching out to shake her hand. And then he caught her scent. Her _Alpha_ scent. He faltered, and then lowered his gaze. “Sorry, sir.”

She waved the apology off and took his hand before he could drop it. “Eggsy, my _mum_ is my superior in the Guard. A bit hard to take orders from someone I don’t respect simply because of what he is.”

Eggsy looked up at her, the grin surfacing shyly. “That why you’d kick Harry’s arse for bein’ a dick to me?”

Roxy laughed softly and grinned at him. “Something like that, yeah.” She paused and eyed him for a moment. “And unless you join the Guard? None of this ‘sir’ stuff, alright?”

“Okay… Roxy.”

“That’s actually why I brought him down here,” James said, putting a hand on Eggsy’s shoulder. “Eggsy, assuming he’d like to be, is going to be one of the proposals for the new cohort.”

Eggsy’s eyes widened and he shook his head. “You ain’t serious.”

“Oh, I’m quite serious. Harry would like to see you given the chance.” He paused. “We have one opening; training begins in two weeks.”

Eggsy eyed him for a moment. “You said co… cohort? That’s gotta be more’n one, yeah?”

James nodded. “As you go through the training, people will be eliminated until there is only one left.”

“How angry’s Harry gonna be when I’m out first?”

James shook his head. “He might be disappointed, but he won’t be _angry_. And it isn’t as if you’ll go straight from recruitment to the first test. You’ll have six weeks of basic training and classes.”

Eggsy winced. “Classes? You know I ain’t got no real learnin’, right?”

James nodded. “Harry has said you’re capable of reading. That… is all you need, really. If you don’t understand something, help _will_ be given to you. All you need do is ask.”

Eggsy nodded slowly. “What if… I end up hating it…? Merlin said I should do something I like.”

“You’re allowed to withdraw after the initial six weeks.” James looked at Roxy. “Why not show him a few basic moves? That way he won’t be entirely unprepared for what it’ll be like.”

She nodded and took Eggsy over to where she’d been sparring. James watched them, watched _Eggsy_. He was hesitant, and so clearly nervous to be sparring with an Alpha, but his form wasn’t too terrible for a complete beginner and he followed Roxy’s instructions well. James thought, if nothing else, the training would be good for Eggsy. It might help him with his confidence and his fears. And it would do him good to see that others here _would_ treat him with dignity and respect.

And if they _didn’t_ , well, James would have a little… talk… with them.

03

After Roxy finished showing Eggsy some basic moves, James took him on something of a walking tour of the compound. He showed Eggsy where all the major places were and then took him to the compound’s stores.

“There are six matter-energy converters in here and two matter reclamation units. If you need something larger than the one in your flat is capable of fabricating, you’ll come here.”

Eggsy looked around a bit. “Why so many?”

“Well, we’ve only managed to get a few of them in working condition. Merlin might know how to fix them, but without the parts…” James shrugged slightly. “The Guard has one; medical has one; the school has one; and… I believe three flats have one. Yours is the only flat to have a matter reclamation unit, however.”

“How d’you even… have the power to do all this?”

James smiled a little. “This actually _was_ some sort of… military fortification or energy plant or some such thing. That’s… why it’s a bit of a maze down here. We’ve had to expand somewhat organically.” He paused. “It’s… some sort of geothermal energy we’ve tapped into. We believe we have an endless supply.”

“Fuckin’ hell.” Eggsy shook his head. They’d always had to scrounge for shit, and here was Harry’s pack with everything they’d ever need. “That why you go to other places and scope ‘em out?”

James nodded. “There’s safety in numbers. We do tend to be a little picky about who we bring in, for security reasons.”

“I guess I’m kinda an exception, huh?”

James smiled vaguely. “Yes, something like that.” He paused. “Is there anywhere else you’d like to see?”

“Well, I need ta go see Michelle. Merlin asked me to spend some time with her.” He paused, smiling a bit shyly. “Ain’t like he had to order me. He just… kinda suggested it.”

“I can certainly take you to her.” He went over to one of the matter-energy units and checked the time on it. “She ought to be home in about an hour.”

Eggsy nodded. “Okay… so… um… c’n I ask you somethin’?”

James nodded. “Of course, Eggsy.”

“How do you… manage… in the Guard… when…” He trailed off and shrugged.

“When I’m in heat?”

He nodded.

James pulled up a couple menus on the matter-energy unit and motioned for Eggsy to join him. “This is one option. It’s a heat suppressant.”

“Fuck me,” he whispered. “Things like that _exist_?”

James laughed softly and nodded. “Oh, yes. They’re _extremely_ difficult to find unless you fabricate them.”

“And… can I take them _every_ time? So I never have it again?”

“For _that_ , I would suggest going to medical.” He paused. “The other option is, well, a satisfying sex life. A _good_ fucking every morning of it certainly allows me to remain in possession of my faculties. It doesn’t completely alleviate it, of course.”

Eggsy scoffed. “Ain’t gonna have one of those.”

James put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “You might, Eggsy. You might.”

04

It was just over an hour later when James showed Eggsy to Michelle’s flat. Eggsy waited until the other Omega was out of sight before knocking. It would be obvious enough that someone had helped him (since she was gonna have to help him get home), but he wanted her to see _just_ him. He wanted her to know that he wasn’t there just cos his Alpha told him to.

“It’s open, Anna,” came her voice from within.

Eggsy hesitated. She was clearly expecting company. Maybe it was a bad time? He thought about just slinking off and figuring out his way back home, but she’d come to the door eventually. She’d catch his scent. She’d know.

He sighed and opened the door. He looked inside but he didn’t step in just yet. “If it’s a bad time…”

Her flat looked to be about the same as the one he lived in. There was the lounge - although hers had a kitchenette - and three doors. He assumed those went to two bedrooms and a bath. It seemed odd to him that the pack leader didn’t have a bigger home. Cos… _shouldn’t_ he?

Michelle was in the kitchenette, getting a start on dinner. She turned when she heard his voice, her face lighting up. “Eggsy! No, no it’s never a bad time.” She wiped her hands off and went over to the door. “Come in, come in.”

He stepped inside, closing the door behind himself. “I won’t stay long. You’re expectin’ someone and makin’ dinner.”

She laughed softly. “Anna is my babysitter. She watches my daughter for me while I work.” She reached out and ran her fingers along his temple. “As for dinner, why don’t you stay?”

He looked down shyly and then shrugged. “I ain’t asked if it’s okay.”

She thought about telling him Merlin could bite her rosy arse if he didn’t like it, but… she didn’t want to make her dear, lost baby afraid of spending time with her. “Alright. We’ll do it another night?”

He grinned at her. “Yeah.”

She took him by the hand and led him over to her sofa. She toed a couple toys out of the way. “It’s a mess in here. It’s just me and Daisy, so…” She shrugged. “I mean, if I still had a housewife…” She sighed softly, almost wistfully. “Lee was so wonderful about keeping this place in order. Even…” She shook her head.

“Even after the baby?”

She sat and he sat with her. She twined her fingers around his and held his hand. “Yeah. Even after the baby. You know… that pup… I don’t think our baby understood that nighttime was for sleeping. Lee would be up all hours of the night; bottles, diapers, whatever the pup needed.” She sighed softly. “I’d come home, and there would be my little men, asleep on the sofa together.”

“Daisy sleep well without him?”

She shook her head. “Daisy… I was eight months along with her when Chester sold Lee.” She paused. “This was our first baby. Gary.”

Eggsy frowned a little. “Gary don’t help you with her?”

Michelle watched him for a moment. “When Gary was four… a friend was watching him for Lee and I. He…” She paused, eying Eggsy for a moment. “Have you ever had a child?”

“Fuck no.”

She laughed softly. “Well, it’s a bit difficult for an Omega to take care of being in heat with a baby, much less a, ah, nosy little puppy who’s always into _everything_ and fully capable of getting into mommy and daddy’s room.”

Eggsy started laughing. “Curious thing, huh?”

“Oh, _un_ endingly.” She stroked his cheek fondly. “Well, he was watching Gary for us and… I guess he went down to the stores for some things. This was… in the early days of having the converters and reclamation units working.” She paused. “One of the reclamation units blew up.”

Eggsy winced. “Oh, fuck.”

She nodded. “Yeah. There’d been five people down there. Two of them had been… well, partially turned into energy. It wasn’t pretty and they didn’t last long enough to get to medical. The other three… they were just gone.”

“Fuck,” he whispered. “I’m… fuck. That’s horrible.”

She nodded. “Chester was the one to tell me, to tell us.”

“Bet he loved _that_.”

“Mm.”

She wondered - for the first time in a _long_ while - if Chester _had_ done something to the unit. Merlin had never looked for any sort of sabotage; he’d just assumed it was something he’d done wrong, or just missed. Would Chester have murdered four people _just_ to kidnap Eggsy? Just to punish them?

She realized Eggsy had said something to her and she shook her head. “Sorry, what?”

“I asked if you had pictures of him…” He shrugged.

“Mm-hmm.” She hopped up and went over to the book she kept them in. She paused, her fingers just touching the cover. “Eggsy… do you miss your family? I mean… you must have had _someone_ in that pack…”

“Never had family.” He shrugged. “I mean, sure, I gotta have a mum and a dad _somewhere_ , but… never knew ‘em.”

She picked the book up and went over to him. She settled back beside him, trying to act just as casual as she could. “Why not?”

“Dunno. Dean found me. He took me in cos he thought he could ransom me, but never found who I belonged to.”

She shook her head and flipped through the pages slowly. “You must hate them.”

“Why?”

“Well… don’t you feel… _abandoned_?”

He shook his head. “No… I mean, I used to, like, daydream that someone kinda like Merlin would show up and tell me he was gonna take me back to my family… but… can’t hate them for losing me, y’know? Ain’t like I know why I was alone when Dean found me.”

She nodded slowly and then left it on a page. His daydream settled it for her. She held the book to him. “That’s my Gary.”

Eggsy looked at the pictures. They weren’t faded like the few he’d ever seen in his life - and that made sense after a moment of thought. But it was clear enough that pictures were sort of a rare thing even here. Or, at least, they had been when Gary was a baby.

The first one showed a tired, but pleased looking Michelle holding a pudgy, little, pink thing all wrapped up in a blanket. The next was clearly months later, with the little pup putting a toy in his mouth and sitting on a man’s lap. Eggsy flipped the page and saw a third picture; this one of Gary - maybe a year or two old - sleeping on Lee’s chest. Lee was also asleep, and Eggsy found himself just staring at the man. There were differences, yeah, but it almost coulda been _him_ asleep in the picture.

“How, um…” He swallowed, hard. “How old… would he be…? Now, I-I mean?”

“Twenty-seven,” she said softly.

He looked at her; she was looking pointedly away. She was leaving it to him to not only make the connection but say anything about it. It left him feeling… shy and a little uneasy. He wasn’t supposed to be the one to take the step; he was supposed to be the one _following_.

“So, um…” he cleared his throat, silently willing _her_ to say something. “I, um… I guess you didn’t… call him ‘Gary’ all the time… huh…”

“No…”

“That’s… why you an’ Harry…” he trailed off. He’d known they’d both been upset by hearing his name; he just… hadn’t known _why_.

“Yeah…” She looked back at him finally, her eyes searching his face. “If we’d known… if _I’d_ known… you _never_ would have been left to, to… to that _place_.”

He looked down shyly, a little but pleased smile forming. This was… one of the things he’d always wanted, to have his family tell him he was _wanted_ ; to _feel_ how much he was wanted. He felt her hands on his shoulders and let himself be guided into her arms.

She held him until there was a knock at the door. This time it _was_ Anna, with Daisy in tow. The two women talked by the door for a moment, working out when Anna could watch Daisy over the next few days.

Daisy, meanwhile, was watching the New Person with big, green eyes. She went over to him, slowly and shyly. He looked kinda like the picture Mummy had said was Daddy. She crawled up on the sofa next to him while Mummy and Auntie Anna talked.

“Hi there.”

She watched him for a moment. “Are you my Daddy…?”

“Ah. I.” His eyes flicked to the two women. “No. No, I’m not.”

“Oh. I’m Daisy.”

“I’m Eggsy.”

She held her little hand up to him. He took her hand and leaned toward her; he scented her wrist. He could smell Michelle’s scent on her, and strongly. He grinned a little. Her mother - no, _their_ mother - definitely was one for marking her children… but after what Chester pulled, could he really _blame_ her for it?

At her wrist though, her own scent came through strongly. It was nice; soft and sorta soothing, but not in the same way their mother’s scent was for him. This little girl was _his sister_. This sweet, little thing who’d never gone through any of the shit he had.

And that realization… brought up a feeling in him, one that took him a few moments to identify. It wasn’t one he’d ever _had_ toward another person before. Himself? Sure, but that felt different than this. He wanted to _protect_ her, to keep her from ever having to go through anything like he had. He wouldn’t - maybe _couldn’t_ \- do something as… as _outlandish_ as, say, threatening an Alpha or a Beta if they tried to hurt her… but he could put himself between that person and his sister.

He sat back from her and she reached out for his hand. He let her take it and let her get _his_ scent. She smiled up at him after, her head tipped to the side slightly. His scent kinda reminded her of Mummy’s scent.

“You _sure_ you’re not my Daddy?”

Eggsy laughed softly. “Yeah, I’m… I’m not.”

“Oka-ay, but you smell like Mummy.”

“That’s because he’s Mummy’s baby, too,” Michelle said as she closed the door. “He’s your brother.”

Her eyes widened. “I have a brother?”

Michelle nodded, as she went over to them. “Mm-hmm. Mummy thought he was gone forever,” she said, petting Eggsy’s hair. “But Merlin found him and brought him home. He lives with Merlin and Harry.”

She beamed up at him. “Do you wanna see my room?”

“Love to.”

Daisy took him by the hand and led him to her room. It was nice, and very clearly a child’s room. There were toys everywhere and the bed had soft yellow-colored blanket with frills. There was a fake window on the wall. It ‘overlooked’ a meadow and had a light behind it to give it the illusion of sunlight.

She took him on a _very_ thorough tour of her room, showing him all of her favorite and best toys. She got him to play with her, and they soon had a very spirited story going with a mouse, bear, and three unicorns who were all princesses _and_ pirates.

Eggsy enjoyed the time with her; watching her light up as their story took more and more shape. He hadn’t even realized how long he’d been back there with her until their mum tapped on the door frame.

“Babe? Did you change your mind about staying for dinner?”

“...why?”

“Because it’s ready.”

His eyes widened. “Fuck. I-” He looked at Daisy, suddenly remembering there was a pup in the room. “Sorry.” He shook his head and got up. “I shouldn’ta stayed so long.”

“I’ll walk you home, alright?”

He looked at her gratefully and nodded. “Yeah, sure. Sounds good.”

05

It wasn’t even ten minutes later when the three of them arrived at the flat. Michelle had purposely walked them back slowly, so Eggsy could learn the route. She hoped it might calm him down, but he was too agitated for that.

“Want us to come in, babe?”

He shook his head. “No. I…” He looked at Daisy and then at her. “I think it’ll be… you know… _better_ if it’s just me.”

She nodded. She understood what he thought; that it would be better for _Daisy_ to not see him be beaten. But she also knew Merlin wasn’t going to lay a hand on him. She kissed his cheek. “Let us know when you can come for dinner, yeah?”

He gave her a weak smile. “Soon as I can, yeah.”

He waited for her to leave and then went into the flat. Merlin and Harry were on the sofa together, plates of half-eaten dinner on the table in front of them. They each had a glass of wine and they looked… well… relaxed and _anything_ but angry.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to be late.” He paused and took a breath. “I was… with my mum…”

He expected to be yelled at. Or threatened. Or some-fucking-thing. What he did not expect… was for his Alpha to smile. If _that_ wasn’t weird enough, his only question _was_ : “Have you eaten?”

Eggsy shook his head. “No…”

Merlin got up and went over to the converter. “Harry made us beef Marsala and wine.” He started pulling up menus. “Does that sound good?”

Eggsy, still by the door, just stared at Merlin for a moment. “Ain’t you mad? I didn’t… I wasn’t home. I didn’t make you dinner…”

Merlin chuckled and Harry waved Eggsy over to the sofa. Eggsy went over to the sofa and sat next to Harry. Merlin brought him over his dinner and wine. Eggsy took the food and curled up a little.

“You do know we’re capable of making our own food, aye?”

Eggsy nodded. “Yeah, but… like… _I’m_ the Omega… It’s my place...” He obediently took a bite of his dinner, planning on continuing explaining how he knew he’d fucked up… but then the taste hit him. “Ohmyfuck,” he sighed.

Merlin smiled slowly. “I’ve… never seen yeh react like _that_.”

Eggsy shrugged. “Ain’t never… had it before.”

Merlin handed him the wine and waited while he took a sip of it. “But _that_ you have?”

Eggsy looked guilty and curled up a little. “Well… I pulled up a list of foods you make the most. An’ I tried the wines.” He bit his lip. “I… do the same… with dinner.”

Merlin shook his head. “What do you mean?”

“I… have it make me a half-meal of two things at lunch. And… whichever one I like better, I make for dinner.”

Merlin chuckled softly. “And you deny us this… showing of absolute pleasure?”

Eggsy’s cheeks reddened. “Well… if I don’t like it… I mean…”

“Then you don’t like it.” Merlin shook his head. “Why is that a problem?”

Harry put a hand on Eggsy’s knee and pat him. “Eggsy, dear, there are a _number_ of things Merlin and I have tried that one of us has not liked. Sometimes one of us will want one of those meals. So I’ll eat one thing and Merlin another.” He smiled gently. “There’s no reason you can’t do the same.”

“For that matter,” Merlin said, “why don’t… we split up who makes dinner? Then you don’t have to worry about when you get home.”

Eggsy ate silently for a couple moments. Not because he didn’t know what to say, but because he just wanted to eat what Merlin had gotten for him. “How?”

“Well, Harry picked tonight. I’ll make dinner tomorrow, and you can make it the next night.” He paused. “And since Harry and I already know a good portion of the meals, we can pick things we think you might like and you can pick things that sound interesting to try.”

Eggsy looked from Harry to Merlin. From the sound of it, he got the impression the Alphas had been talking about it already. “Yeah… sounds good… except… um…”

“Except the days Merlin’s late,” Harry nodded. “Well, on _those_ days, I suppose you and I will have to have something special. Just the two of us.”

Color bloomed in Eggsy’s cheeks again and he ducked his head. “No, I-I-I meant… cos… James. Told me…”

“Oh!” Harry sounded pleased. “Are you going to try for the position?”

Eggsy nodded. “If… it ain’t a problem… for Merlin.”

“It’s not a problem for me, Eggsy,” Merlin said gently. “I think… it would be good for you, actually.”

Eggsy grinned shyly, and Merlin was struck at how… innocent… he could be at times. So many things were new to him and it brought up _something_ inside of him to see the Omega’s simple pleasures. Well… he could _call_ it ‘something’, but he knew what it was. It was _ownership_. It was the desire to show him these little pleasures, to have those moments be _for him_.

He thought, maybe, Eggsy’s time training would be good for the _both_ of them. It would give _him_ time to… to cool off; to not feel so protective and possessive of the Omega. It would be good for them to _both_ have that space before Eggsy’s next heat.

Because with how he was coming to feel? _Ooooh_ , he was _going_ to want to claim the Omega.


	4. Chapter 4

01

Eggsy looked around the barracks. James had brought him down early and he was the first one to arrive. There were twelve beds; six on each side of the room. He’d claimed one in the far corner. He’d be out of the way there and, hopefully, go mostly undisturbed by the Alphas who’d be joining him.

He didn’t really like the idea of sleeping in a room with a mix of Alphas and Betas. He didn’t like the idea of being this far separated from Merlin; from the Alpha he felt he could, at least, hide behind if it came to it. And, having explored a little more, he did _not_ like the fact that they had communal showers.

Maybe he’d be able to get up before everyone else. He could sneak into the showers while everyone else slept. He’d just have to _try_.

He settled on his bed, nervously waiting for the others to arrive. It wasn’t long before four Alphas came in. The leader smirked at him and nudged one of his mates. Eggsy pointedly looked away from them. He heard them walking over and tried to keep himself from bolting.

“I’d _wondered_ if we were getting a bitch,” the leader drawled. “With how high and mighty Arthur acts, I wasn’t certain.”

Eggsy looked at him. “What d’you mean?”

“Oh, every set of recruits has had an Omega. They do the things that are simply below us. They keep the barracks clean, they do our wash.” He paused, his smirk growing. “And, of course, they provide… comfort… after a hard day of training.”

Eggsy curled in on himself a little. “Then how come there’s an Omega in the Guard?”

The Alpha laughed. “He got in on his back. Arthur, before he took up that role, was the trainer for that set of recruits.”

“Don’t believe you,” he muttered.

“No? Who proposed you, hm?” He waited for a moment. “It was Arthur, wasn’t it?”

Eggsy said nothing and just looked away. “I got an Alpha though…”

“Yet you’re wearing a slave’s collar and you don’t smell claimed.” He chuckled. “Who’s your Alpha then?”

“Merlin.”

He laughed again. “Oh, sure, Arthur’s wife. _Of course_ he’s your Alpha.” He sat on the bed. “Look, my mates and I? We’ll keep the others off you.”

Eggsy looked at the Alpha. Harry had told him he’d be safe, but… he still wasn’t sure if he could trust Harry. He wasn’t sure if he could trust _anyone_ ( _maybe_ with the exception of James, but he… he _liked_ having an Alpha). Maybe this was _how_ Harry had meant he’d be safe. 

“...you’ll keep them off of me?”

“Yes, as long as we have an understanding. You do whatever I say, when I say it. Or _who_ ever.” He smiled as if this was the _most_ gracious offer he’d ever made someone. “It’ll just be the four of us… unless you’d rather be fucked whenever one of the others want to. There’s only eleven of us; you’ll be fine.”

Eggsy was quiet for a long moment. If the Alpha wasn’t fucking with him, then the obvious thing to do was to accept his offer of protection. If he _was_ , well… then he’d have to deal with the four of them after denying them… which he knew would be a _lot_ more brutal than if he just accepted their offer.

He sighed softly and lowered his head. “‘kay. I’ll do what you say.”

“Excellent,” he said standing. “These three are Rufus, Digby, and Hugo. And my name is Charlie, although… you’re going to call me ‘sir’.”

“Yes, sir.”

02

The first day was mostly for them to settle in. He’d stayed close to the four Alphas all day. Not specifically because he _wanted_ to; they’d told him he _had_ to. He’d gotten their food for them when they’d gone for meals. He’d put away their clothes in their footlockers. He’d been the perfect servant… and no one had bothered him. And, more importantly to him, they hadn’t been alone long enough for the Alphas to fuck him.

In the morning, he managed to wake up before anyone else and he sneaked into the showers. If they hadn’t been communal, he wouldn’t have worried so much. But one Omega versus eleven others was a real concern to him.

He got under the water and started washing quickly, giving the door quick, furtive glances every so often. He was nearly done when another recruit walked in. He was brown, with close cropped hair. Eggsy thought he was one of the Betas, and the Beta was eyeing him in a way Eggsy… wasn’t sure he understood.

He waited until Eggsy shut the water off. “‘s Eggsy, right?”

“Yeah…”

“D’you _wanna_ be followin’ that arsehole around?”

Eggsy shrugged. The Beta was in the way of the door, blocking him in. “Better than the alternative,” he muttered.

“Yeah? Wot’s that?”

“He’s… you know…” He shrugged again. “I do what he says, he keeps the rest of you offa me.”

“Offa…” He shook his head. “That fuck. You know anythin’ about the _last_ Arthur?”

Eggsy nodded. “He’s a piece of shit.”

“Yeah. Charlie’s his… nephew or… I don’t even know. Might not be blood, but that’s the sorta… thing… they had. So, he thinks the way the last Arthur did.”

“Okay…”

“He ain’t keepin’ the rest of us offa you.” He paused and eyed Eggsy for a moment. “No one talked to you about that?”

He shrugged. “Harry told me I’d be safe… but…” He shrugged again. “Charlie said this is a normal part of this and that, well, James got in on his back.”

He rolled his eyes. “Sounds like that fuck. Promise you none-a that’s true, mate.” He paused. “Look, why don’t you hang out in the changing area while I shower. My an’ my mates’ll watch your back and keep him from touching you.”

Eggsy eyed him. “And… what do _you_ want me to do…?”

He shook his head. “Nothin’, mate.”

Eggsy eyed him for a moment. “Yeah, sure. So how many’s you and your mates?”

“Four of us. There’s Brandon, Liam, Ryan, and me.” He paused. “I’m Jamal.”

“All Betas…?”

Jamal nodded. “Yep.”

“I’ll think about it,” he said quietly. 

He went out into the changing room. Shortly thereafter, he heard the water start in the shower. He dried off and got dressed, and then he looked at the door leading back into the barracks. He wasn’t sure what was the better thing to do. The Alphas had been upfront about what they were going to do to him; the Betas… he just wasn’t sure what they wanted.

He was still sitting on the bench, curled up on himself a bit, when the door opened. The rest of the recruits started filing in. The three women in their cohort were pointedly ignoring the four Alphas. Jamal’s three mates filed in after them.

As soon as they spotted him, the four Alphas left the women alone and circled him. He wanted to hide. The scents of the four of them right around him was almost overwhelming. He didn’t know what they were planning on, and he didn’t find out.

“Wow, hope I don’t get paired with _them_ ever,” one of the Betas said.

“Right? S’pposed to be able to _rely_ on the others in the Guard,” another one of them said.

Charlie glared at them. “ _This_ is a _competition_.”

“So that’s it, then?” Jamal called from the shower doorway. “You’re so scared of Eggsy that you’ve gotta terrorize him? Some big, tough Alpha _you_ are.”

The Alpha shrugged. “Omegas should know their place.” He nodded toward Eggsy. “This one does.”

“Man, Arthur shoulda chased your family off once he took over,” Jamal said as he came over. He pushed past Charlie and put himself between the Alpha and Eggsy. “He’s one of _us_ now. You fuck with him and you get all of us. Don’t think just cos we’re Betas we won’t knock you on your arse.”

They locked eyes, glaring at each other. Eggsy could smell their scents getting stronger as they silently challenged each other. Eggsy knew it would escalate into a fight; a fight to decide which group got to use him. He _knew_ the Alpha would win, solely because he was an _Alpha_. But the fight was interrupted by the barrack’s alarm. They had fifteen minutes before their trainer would be down.

“This isn’t over,” the Alpha snarled and walked into the shower.

Jamal waited until the others had gone and dressed. He turned back to Eggsy and nodded toward the barracks. “C’mon.”

Eggsy rose and silently followed him. Jamal went over to his bed to do a last check over and wait for the trainer. He smoothed out the blanket, which didn’t really need smoothing.

“I ain’t expectin’ nothin’,” he said.

Eggsy startled. “What…?”

He turned around. “I said I ain’t expectin’ nothin’. Go make sure you’re set, mate.”

Eggsy stared at him for a couple moments before smiling just a little and nodding. He went over to his area and made sure it was neat. He cast a glance at the Beta every so often, a look of soft wonder on his face. He still wasn’t used to people treating him like… like… Well, not like an Omega.

03

By the time the second alarm sounded, everyone was back in the barracks. They lined up at the foot of their beds and Eggsy copied them. He wasn’t… really sure what to expect, but then, _he_ hadn’t grown up in a military pack. This was all very new to him.

James came in, his face set in almost rigid neutrality. He walked along the two rows, pointing out issues as he went. He didn’t spare anyone, even if he had to search for _something_ wrong. Once he was done, he went to the middle of the room.

“How many Alphas live in these barracks?” he asked.

“Five,” Charlie scoffed. “Obviously.”

James went over to him. He got right up to the Alpha, enough so it was clear that James was the taller of the two. “ _I_ am your trainer. I am your superior. You _will_ address me as ‘sir’.”

Eggsy bit down on a grin.

“Sir,” Charlie spat.

“Who can tell me the _correct_ answer?” he asked, not moving his eyes off of Charlie’s own. He’d been trained well on how to ignore the submissive instinct in the face of an Alpha.

“None, sir,” one of the women said. “We follow the Guard’s hierarchy, not the natural one.”

“Very good,” he said, still pointedly looking at Charlie. He turned away from the Alpha and moved back to the center of the room. “This means primary _or_ secondary gender-based insubordination or misconduct will see you cut from this program. Am I understood?”

“Yes, sir,” came the callback.

“Good. Go grab something to eat and then meet me in training room 3. You’ve an hour. Dismissed.” He put a hand on Charlie’s arm as the Alpha moved past him. “Not you.” He waited until the room was empty. “You’re only still in this program because of Arthur’s insistence. If it had been up to _me_ , you would have been cut last night.”

Charlie shook his head, a little grin on his face. “For what? Sir?”

James laughed softly. “Recruit… _no one_ gets in on their back. They might, however, leave on their arse.”

The grin vanished at the realization that he’d either been overheard or ratted out. He nodded. “Understood. Sir.”

James nodded toward the door and watched the Alpha leave. It had been some time since he’d so hotly disagreed with Harry about something. He’d actually ended up challenging Harry, their eyes locked and his lips pulled back in a snarl. Despite his own instinctual reaction to show submission to an angry Alpha, despite his loyalty to the man who was his brother in every way that mattered, he’d held on.

And then he’d heard Harry growl. It was a low, soft thing. It was more a warning than threat; a warning that it _would_ come to blows if the challenge continued. He knew from the sound of it that Harry had no real desire to hurt him. Like the showing of submission, it was instinct and not one many Alphas learned to control. So he’d given in. He’d lowered his eyes submissively and accepted Harry’s command that Charlie not be cut immediately.

Still, James doubted that he’d make it the entire six weeks. An Alpha like _that_ would never truly be willing to take orders from an Omega. He gave it three weeks before he’d have to cut the fucker.

04

Eggsy had gone down to the mess hall with Jamal and his little pack. He was honestly surprised when the four Betas got their own meals. It was the rations Merlin had given him on the road, only they were premade. Each of the Betas had gotten two.

The rations were the only foods programmed into the matter-energy converter. There were, again, words he’d never seen before. Words like ‘bison’, ‘foie gras’, ‘salmon’. He got one of the bison and one of the really weird word. He figured it would be kinda grass tasting, but he was curious.

He took them and his drink over to the table the four Betas had claimed. They’d waited for him and he sat between two of them. He felt… a bit nervous but they’d been nice to him so far.

“Ryan, Brandon,” Jamal said, pointing with his fork at the Betas to either side of Eggsy. “This one,” he said with a nod at the Beta next to him, “is Liam. This is Eggsy.”

Eggsy nodded to them.

“You grew up in a… um… ‘traditional’ pack, yeah?” Brandon asked.

“Yeah.”

“Well, then you’re gonna be behind us in places. But you need help, just tell one of us.”

Eggsy eyed Brandon uncertainly for a moment. “It’s a competition though…”

“And?” He shrugged. “Best one oughta win. You shouldn’t get knocked back cos of how you were raised.”

He smiled shyly and looked down at his food. The Betas started talking and Eggsy mainly listened as he tried his food. He was halfway through the ‘gras’ one - which tasted sorta creamy and meaty, and not like grass - when another recruit approached the table and slammed his hands down on it. They looked up at him.

Liam rolled his eyes. “What?”

Charlie was glowering at Eggsy. “Ran to Lancelot, huh?”

Eggsy shook his head. “No. When would I have had time…?”

“Ohh,” he laughed mirthlessly. “Who _else_ would have run to him like…” He huffed.

“Oh, please say it,” Ryan said with a grin.

Charlie scowled at him. “Why? Gonna run to Lancelot, too?”

Ryan laughed. “No one ran to him. No one _had_ to.”

The Alpha frowned. “And why not?”

“My dad works on the camera systems. There’s two in the barracks, one in each training room, and one or two in here. With mics.” He grinned. “So, please, _say it_.”

The look on Charlie’s face told them he hadn’t realized they were monitored that much. He looked around, trying to find the ones in the room. After a moment, he scoffed at them and walked away.

“I’ll be shocked if he gets through the six weeks without saying _something_ ,” Jamal smirked.

05

Much to everyone’s disappointment, he _did_ manage to get through the six weeks without saying anything.

Lancelot paid attention to how the recruits interacted with each other, both in the barracks and during training. He’d watched them in the mess hall every so often, but the recruits mostly stuck to their three little groups. He’d mostly watched Eggsy in there, watched him become less nervous around his friends, watched him start to come out of the shell he’d been so brutally forced into.

He’d decided to set up the tests based on how he’d seen them acting. He wanted to play off their weaknesses and problems. If they couldn’t get past those, they simply wouldn’t make good candidates. It was three days after their six weeks was up. The previous two days had been classroom work.

“Today’s exercise,” Lancelot told the recruits, “centers on team-building.”

“In hydroponics?” Charlie drawled, looking at the two bay doors.

“Obviously,” Lancelot said. “I’ve broken you up into two teams. Anna, Brandon, Jamal, Liam, Lynn, Ryan: you’re group one, with Lynn in command.” He handed her a folder with their assignment inside. “Charlie, Darcey, Digby, Eggsy, Hugo, Rufus: you’re group two, with Eggsy in charge.”

Eggsy took his group’s folder with something of a hesitant look. Lancelot had put all the Betas in one group, and all the Alphas in his. And he was supposed to be in charge. He looked at the five of them. Darcey was the only one who’d never been a complete arse to him. This was going to go _terribly_. And… as the leader… wasn’t it all gonna fall on him? At least he’d _known_ he’d be the first eliminated.

“Your tasks are inside. Squad leaders have instructions. You have one hour to complete your tasks.”

They went into their assigned rooms. Eggsy looked around their bay. There was piping on the central table. All the plants had been removed and the old piping was still up. He assumed that was their task.

“Let’s get started,” Charlie sighed. “No wonder Lancelot put the Omega in charge. He’s the only one who didn’t grow up here.” Charlie gave him a pointedly annoyed look. “Part of _our_ educations involved learning a bit of everything so we could learn what the best place for us to work was.”

Eggsy felt himself flush. Charlie and his little pack went over to get started. Darcey, however, waited at attention. Eggsy nearly told her to just go help them. He shook his head, sighed, and opened the folder. He stared at the instructions for a moment before looking at Charlie and the others.

“Since I’m in charge, you really oughta wait until I give you your assignments.”

Charlie set down the section of pipe he was working on. “Look, _Omega_ , there’s no cameras in here. No mics. Whoever’s supposed to do what doesn’t matter. _We_ know how to do this. Just… shut up and stand there. The only reason you’ve gotten this far is positive discrimination.”

“No, as squad leader, you’re _going_ to listen to me.”

The four of them ignored him, rather pointedly. Eggsy watched them for a few moments, trying to decide if he should bother pressing the issue or not.

“Alright.” He looked at Darcey. “Do you want to help them or will you follow me?”

“You’re my squad leader, _sir_. Obviously, I’ll follow you.”

Eggsy grinned at her and nodded toward the door. She followed him out and he led her back toward the barracks. And then he passed them.

“Sir? If I might… what _are_ we doing?”

Eggsy looked over his shoulder at her. “I’m not allowed to disclose my orders yet.”

She nodded. “Understood, sir.”

He led her to Lancelot’s office and knocked. Lancelot opened it and looked them over. He nodded; he hadn’t expected anything else. He stepped back so Eggsy and Darcey could enter.

“Now that we’re at our destination, I can tell you what we were supposed to do.” He grinned. “I was to lead you out of hydroponics and here. You were to not start on the piping.”

She eyed him for a moment before laughing. “So… the entire test was for the Alphas to willingly follow an Omega’s commands without being monitored.”

Lancelot tipped his head with a grin. “I’m sure the hydroponics crews will be happy they don’t have to replace the pipes tomorrow. You have until the top of the hour, and then meet me back at the bays.”

They went back to the barracks and mainly hung out for the hour. When their time was just about up, they went back to the bays and back into their group’s room. The Alphas had mostly completed the piping.

“Nice job,” Eggsy said.

“Thank you, sir,” Charlie sneered at him.

It was almost a quarter of an hour before Lancelot opened their door. The first group was behind him. They didn’t look as if they’d spent the last hour doing anything too difficult. Eggsy wondered what sort of task _they’d_ been given. 

Lancelot entered the bay, leaving the other group in the corridor. He looked the piping over, examining it. They’d put it together properly; there was that much, at least.

“Nice work.”

“Thank you, sir,” Charlie said, the vitriol gone from his voice.

“You did the work?”

He nodded. “Digby, Rufus, Hugo, and I did, sir.”

Lancelot nodded. “I see. What did your squad leader and Darcey do?”

Charlie smirked. “They left.”

Lancelot looked at Darcey. “Did Eggsy give you any orders?”

“He tried to, sir, however _they_ were unwilling to take orders from an Omega.” She paused. “I, however, followed my squad leader, which… you’re already aware of.”

Lancelot nodded. “Would you four like to know what your assignment was?”

Charlie frowned. “The pipes… were the only thing in here.”

“Yes, the hydroponics crew is replacing them,” Lancelot explained. “Your only task was to follow your squad leader’s orders. If you’d bothered to listen to him, you would have completed your assigned task.”

Charlie snarled at him. “You set us up to fail.”

“No. I gave your orders to your squad leader. You opted to ignore him, thus failing yourselves.”

“My father-”

“Should remind you of the importance of following proper hierarchy,” Lancelot said, overriding him. “Collect your things.” He paused. “As far as I’m aware, there has never been four people eliminated during the first test.”

The four Alphas stalked by him. Lancelot had a feeling he would, indeed, be hearing from the fuck’s father. But that was fine. If the father wouldn’t accept an Omega’s ruling, he’d _have_ to accept Arthur’s.

06

Four weeks later, they had their second test. Liam was the one eliminated. Eggsy was sad to see the Beta go. He’d definitely become a friend during their time in training. And it was nice. He’d… never _had_ friends before Merlin rescued him.

They’d just gotten back from the test, and the latest results from their exams were up. Eggsy didn’t want to look. But Jamal and Ryan teamed up against him and pushed him towards the results.

“So? What’s it say?” Ryan asked, nudging him closer.

Eggsy sighed and tipped his head back. “Fine, I’ll look.” He read the page over and then shrugged. “Fifth.”

“Hey, it ain’t last,” Jamal said as he let go of Eggsy. “And considering where you started from?”

He shook his head. “They’re lookin’ for the best. Ain’t gonna be me.”

Ryan slung his arm around Eggsy’s shoulder. “Mate, we still got _months_. You’ve got _plenty_ of time. And you know we’ll help you.”

Eggsy grinned and made a show of rolling his eyes. “Yeah, alright, alright.”

They went back over to where the other four were. They had the rest of the day to themselves. A lot of the time like that, they’d taken to just hanging out in the barracks. They’d barely gotten settled in when Lancelot walked in.

“At ease,” he said. “Eggsy, I need a word with you.”

Eggsy nodded and followed him. He’d expected to be led back to Lancelot’s office, but they passed that and kept going to a room he’d never been to before. Lancelot opened the door and ushered him inside before following him.

Harry was in there; Merlin was in there; Percival was, as well. Along with a number of people he’d never met before. They were all seated around a round table with two empty seats. Lancelot took his seat and Harry motioned to the other empty one; it was beside Merlin.

“Eggsy, I want you to understand something before we begin,” Harry said. “Everything that is said in this room remains in this room.”

Eggsy nodded. “Understood, sir.”

“If you are unwilling to do what will be asked of you, that is fine. This is not an order; you aren’t a member of the Guard.” He paused. “And if you _do_ accept, you’ll be pulled from the training program.”

“I understand,” he said softly. 

“This is not a punishment,” Harry said. “It is simply because we can’t be certain of how long this will take.”

“Alright.”

“We’ve gotten a lead on your father. An agent will go, posing as a bounty hunter, and you’ll be with them, posing as their Omega. With luck, one of you will be able to learn something. Should you, you’ll be looking into that.”

Eggsy nodded and curled up a bit. “Who… would I be going with?”

“Very likely Bors. He… certainly looks the part of a bounty hunter.”

Eggsy looked down at the table uncomfortably.

“Eggsy?” Harry waited until he looked up. “You need to be open with us. If you have concerns or questions, we _need_ to know them.”

“If I go as his Omega, wouldn’t I… well… need to _be_ his Omega. If that pack’s traditional, they won’t buy it if I ain’t.”

Harry nodded. “Alright.” He paused. “Is there an agent you’d… feel comfortable with for the mission?”

He looked at Merlin for a brief moment and then nodded. He saw Harry’s lips press into a line and he lowered his head again.

“Merlin isn’t a field agent,” Harry said after a moment. “When he found you, that was his first time in the field.”

He was quiet again for a bit. He eyed Eggsy and how the Omega’s posture had gone from something touching on confident back to fearful submission. He realized that, while Eggsy had gained a measure of confidence, he was still too… too broken for this.

“If I send Merlin with you, would you be willing to do this? If you’re not, no one will blame you, Eggsy. You’ll go back into the training program and we’ll figure something else out.”

“Why not send Lancelot?”

“It’s a valid question,” Harry said. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but he’s been trained to ignore the instinct to submit. His reaction is to become aggressive.”

Eggsy was quiet for a long time. He hand sought out Merlin’s arm and he held onto it tightly. His Alpha. If he agreed to this, he would really belong to _his_ Alpha. Merlin would be his husband, his owner. He’d be beaten and fucked whether he wanted it or not.

“This… this is the closest you’ve gotten to finding my dad…?”

“Yes,” Harry said softly.

“Then I’ll do it.” He took a breath, trying to steady himself; trying to keep from panicking. “Will… will the lead still be good? I mean, I ain’t gonna go into heat again for… two or three weeks.”

“It can be medically induced. I’ll let Medical know you’re coming.”

Eggsy nodded and took a breath again. He was getting a handle on the panicky feeling. He thought he was, anyway. He was shutting down emotionally. “Alright. Then… then I’ll go get my stuff from the barracks and… go to Medical.”

“Thank you, Eggsy,” Harry said softly. “It truly _is_ appreciated.”

Eggsy stood. “If that’s all, sir…?”

Harry nodded. “It is.”

Eggsy left the round table room and went back down to the barracks. He felt numb. He was willing to do it for his mum and his dad, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t terrified. He crossed the barrack and started gathering his stuff.

“Oh, that’s _bullshit_ ,” Brandon snapped.

Eggsy winced and looked over at him. “...what is?”

“Them kicking you out.”

“Oh.” Eggsy shook his head. “No, it’s…” He shrugged. “It’s my choice.”

“Your _choice_?”

He looked at Jamal. “Yeah.” He paused. “I can’t… explain it right now.”

Jamal’s eyes narrowed. “When you _can_ , you’re gonna.”

Eggsy stared at him for a moment and then smiled. His friends were being protective of him. They didn’t like that it looked like he was being kicked out for being an Omega. He wanted to tell them that Harry was sending him on a mission. But… he knew he couldn’t.

He stood up, bag in hand. “Yeah, soon as I can, I’ll explain. But, promise, this was my choice.”

Jamal nodded. “Alright, mate. We’ll hold you to that.”

07

Eggsy went down to Medical and waited until the doctor could see to him. There were a couple on shift, and it was the Omega doctor who went to him. He was projecting his scent again, and it helped calm Eggsy.

“Come with me,” he said softly and then led Eggsy into a room. He closed the door and watched him for a moment. “You’re here to be induced, correct?”

“Yeah…”

“Eggsy, do you _want_ to do this?”

Eggsy laughed quietly. “No. I don’t want to be claimed. I don’t want it at all.” He looked up at the doctor. “But… they need me.”

The doctor was quiet for a moment. “So you’d call yourself willing?”

He nodded. “Yeah.” He paused. “You… tryin’ to ask me if I feel forced?”

The doctor nodded. “Yes.”

“I don’t feel forced. Arthur… made it real clear that it was my choice.”

“Good.” He left Eggsy’s side for a moment and came back with a syringe. “This can have varying results. Some people have gone into heat within an hour; others haven’t felt anything for a couple days.”

“Alright.”

The doctor pushed up Eggsy’s sleeve and cleaned the area before injecting him. “If you don’t feel anything in two or three days, come back.”

“‘kay…” 

“What is it?” He put a hand on Eggsy’s arm. “Please tell me.”

He said nothing for a moment and then looked at the doctor again. “You’re… sure that Merlin and Harry are gonna be… you know…”

He nodded. “Yes. They’re good men, good Alphas.” He paused. “If he _isn’t_ , you can come to me. I’ll induce you again and keep you here until it’s passed.”

Eggsy gave him a grateful look. “Thank you.”

He left Medical and headed back to his flat. He paused outside the door. He closed his eyes and leaned against it. He’d _walked_ into this; he’d _agreed_ to this. Hell, he’d told Merlin flat out he’d do whatever he wanted. He’d been expecting Merlin to claim him. But there was a difference between that… and knowing it was about to happen.

He took a breath and went inside. Merlin was sitting on the sofa, waiting for him. Eggsy froze in place. Merlin went over to him and put his hands on Eggsy’s cheeks. His touch was gentle; his eyes were gentle.

“Come sit with me.”

Eggsy let himself be led to the sofa. “It ain’t gonna kick in right away. Might be a couple days.”

Merlin shook his head. “Nothing will happen until you’re ready.”

He sat and tugged Eggsy’s hand. Eggsy sat beside him and then looked at his hands. Merlin curled his fingers under Eggsy’s chin and guided him to look up. He could see the fear in the Omega’s eyes.

“What can I do?” he asked softly.

Eggsy shook his head. “It…” He shook his head again.

“I know he beat you for your thoughts. I won’t do that to you.”

Eggsy laughed weakly; he didn’t believe the Alpha.

“You… you _do_ understand this is just for the mission, don’t you? After the mission’s over, I’m not going to claim you again.”

The disbelief was clear on his face. “Sure.”

Merlin smiled gently. He didn’t blame Eggsy for not believing him. He slid his hand up to Eggsy’s cheek, gently cupping it. He felt the Omega tip his head against his hand. “Tell me what I can do to make this less frightening to you.”

“I dunno,” he said softly, shifting his eyes away.

“Well,” Merlin said softly. “You have a couple days to figure out if there _is_ anything I can do. And if you change your mind, that’s fine. Harry _will_ understand.”

“I said I would.” He met Merlin’s gaze again. “I took the mission; I knew the consequences.”

Merlin watched him for a moment, a smile playing on his lips. He could still hear the fear in Eggsy’s voice and see it in his eyes… but there was something stubborn in his eyes, too. It was the sort of streak that had led the Omega to unchaining him. 

_His_ Omega. Because there was no denying it, not to himself at least. He’d started to think of Eggsy as _his_ ever since the round table. Claiming Eggsy for at least one heat cycle wouldn’t help that feeling, either. But he’d meant it when he said he wouldn’t claim Eggsy again after the mission. 


	5. Chapter 5

01

Merlin spent the better part of the next day briefing Harry on all of his current projects. He wasn’t sure _who_ Harry was going to have working in his place and he didn’t ask. His files, his office, his _everything_ was going to be in chaos when he came back; he didn’t need to know _exactly_ how bad it would be.

He went back to the flat after. He found Eggsy curled up on the sofa, a couple empty plates in front of him and a bar of chocolate in hand. He smiled a little at the sight of it and went over to the matter-energy converter.

“I take it it’s hitting you.”

“Oh, yeah. Fuckin’ starved.”

Merlin had it make something and went over to the sofa. He sat beside Eggsy and handed it to him. Eggsy stared at it. It was in a little, white bowl and was brown with dusted sugar on top. He could smell the chocolate in it.

“What’s it?”

“Chocolate soufflé,” Merlin said, gently plucking the remains of the chocolate bar from Eggsy’s hand and setting it on the plates.

Eggsy tried it… and then closed his eyes with a groan. “Oh, _fuck_.” He leaned against Merlin. “It’s… It’s…” He shook his head. “Ain’t that it’s so much sweeter… It’s…”

Merlin cautiously put an arm around Eggsy. He smiled when the Omega settled into it. “I think the word you’re looking for is ‘rich’.”

He looked up at Merlin. “Yeah? Then… that’s what it is. _Rich_.”

Eggsy ate it, mostly in silence, although he made pleased little sounds every so often. He explored the texture of the creamy dessert, enjoying this new ‘rich’ thing. He tipped his head back when he was done, and he finally realized Merlin had an arm around him.

“So… tomorrow…”

“What about it?” Merlin asked lightly.

Eggsy shifted, settling against the Alpha’s chest. “You know what I’m talking about,” he said softly.

“Aye, I do.”

Eggsy looked up at him. “I didn’t like what they did to me.”

Merlin put his hand on Eggsy’s cheek. “Of course you didn’t,” he said softly. “I know that. I’m not going to do that to you.”

Eggsy lay his head back on Merlin’s chest. “But what if I act like that…?”

“Do you think I couldn’t _tell_ how frightened and ashamed you were?” He guided Eggsy to look up at him. “I don’t want that for you. I’m…” He shrugged with one shoulder. “I’m possessive. The things and people that are mine… I don’t like seeing them messed up, hurt, broken… Things that are _mine_ are important to me.”

Eggsy watched him for a moment. “Is that why you’re with Harry and not an Omega?”

Merlin laughed softly and stroked Eggsy’s cheek. “No. I had an Omega once, but he and I weren’t right for each other.”

“What happened to him?”

Merlin shook his head. “He moved out. He works in maintenance still.” He paused. “Harry… happened not long after that.”

Eggsy was quiet for a moment. “Harry…” He paused uncertainly. “I mean… you’re _his_ wife and I’m gonna be _your_ wife…”

“So what does that make you to Harry?”

Eggsy nodded.

“What do you _want_ to be to him?”

Eggsy shook his head. “I don’t… What do you mean?”

“Do you _want_ to be his wife? His friend? Just his packmate? It’s up to you as much as it is to him.”

Eggsy smiled shyly. Merlin sounded… so sincere; he almost wanted to believe Merlin. “Then… I wanna just be friends with him…”

“Then that’s all you be.”

Eggsy smiled. That was what he wanted. For now, at least. Harry _was_ good-looking and… well, he’d _been_ kind _and_ he was the pack Alpha. But… _he_ also was Merlin’s Omega. Would Harry just be kind to him to keep his wife happy…? He still wasn’t too certain how two Alphas worked, but that seemed… like a possibility at the very least.

02

Eggsy was poking through the food menus, trying to figure out what they ought to do for dinner. But damn if everything didn’t sound good right then. His body had never just… ramped up quite _this_ badly before. He figured it had to be from it not happening naturally. He groaned a sigh.

“Either we wait on Harry… or I’m just makin’ a bunch of shit.”

Merlin laughed softly. “Harry… is staying with James and Alistair for now. He thought it might make you more comfortable.”

Eggsy rose his brow at Merlin. “Your idea?”

“He suggested it before I could.”

Eggsy nodded and turned back to the converter. He ordered up several things. He took the first couple out and Merlin took them from him. He startled and looked at Merlin; he hadn’t realized the Alpha had moved. He took the rest and followed Merlin over to the sofa.

“You know,” Eggsy ventured as he started on one dish, “with, um, how hard and fast this came on… I’m.” He broke off and took a breath. “I’m not sure it’ll last… an entire week. I mean, I’m close to my next one, yeah, but…” He shrugged and shook his head. “I ain’t… never had this done.”

Merlin ate for a few moments in silence. “So… are you wanting me to claim you… sooner rather than later?”

Eggsy nodded. “Yeah.” He was quiet for a few moments. “It. If it does start tomorrow…”

Merlin sat back and eyed him for a moment. “Alright. Then I need to know what things you like.”

Eggsy shrugged and busied himself with his food. He knew what he _didn’t_ like. But… he had no idea what he might like. Merlin said nothing for a bit and let him just eat. He started talking intermittently as he ate, doing little more than filing the silence. It wasn’t until Eggsy sat back, his body’s _demand_ for calories satiated for the moment, that Merlin did anything.

He cupped Eggsy’s cheek and made the Omega look at him. He stroked Eggsy’s cheek with his thumb; Eggsy tipped his head against Merlin’s hand. He brought his free hand up and gently stroked along Eggsy’s cheek and temple with his fingers. Eggsy hissed in a breath and Merlin pulled his hand away.

“Bad?”

Eggsy shook his head a little. He swallowed hard.

“Do you want me to stop?”

He shook his head again.

Merlin smiled at him and stroked his cheek again, this time using his wrist and not his fingers. Eggsy whimpered softly and leaned into it, his eyes slipping shut. This was something he’d always dreamed about. An Alpha, _his_ Alpha, scent marking him so gently.

He heard Merlin laugh softly as he started on the other side. And then Merlin’s fingers trailed down his neck, his chest, down to the hem of his shirt. He shivered, expecting Merlin to just rip it off of him.

“May I?” Merlin asked softly.

Eggsy stared at him for a moment, his eyes wide and wonderstruck. He nodded, and then he felt Merlin’s fingers slip under his shirt. His muscles jumped at the light touch and he lifted his arms as Merlin pulled the shirt off of him.

Merlin let the shirt drop and then gently ran his fingers along Eggsy’s collarbones, and then slowly started to work lower. He watched Eggsy’s face the entire time, looking for any sign that he wasn’t alright with where he was touching. But his Omega’s eyes were closed and his lips were parted. Merlin worked his way down to Eggsy’s abs; to his beautifully sculpted, defined abs. And then he felt the young man tense up.

“No lower,” he said softly, reassuringly.

He brought his hands back up, stroking Eggsy’s chest with his hands and wrists. He ran his hands along Eggsy’s arms to his hands. He took them and brought them to his own face. Eggsy made a soft sound and then started slowly, cautiously touching Merlin’s face. He smiled a little, shyly, as _he_ marked his Alpha’s face.

He trailed his fingers down to Merlin’s neck and then bit his lip. “C’n I do more…?”

Merlin laughed softly and pulled his shirt off. Eggsy sighed softly and let his fingers trail down Merlin’s chest. He remembered, all too well, how he’d reacted to the Alpha the first time he’d seen him. Even now, the Alpha was lovely… and he was being allowed to scent mark him.

Merlin sighed, tipping his head back as Eggsy’s fingers explored his chest. Fuck, he wanted to push the Omega down. Every sexual instinct in him was _screaming_ to claim him _now_. But he bit down on the impulse and kept himself still as he was marked.

He felt Eggsy’s hands moving back up his chest and he slipped a hand to the back of Eggsy’s neck. He felt Eggsy stiffen. He murmured a reassurance as he pulled the Omega closer to him. He pressed his cheek to Eggsy’s and gently rubbed against him. He heard Eggsy whimper softly and then felt Eggsy’s arms wrap around him. He pulled back enough to swap sides and then he pressed a soft, gentle kiss to the Omega’s earlobe.

“Alright?” he asked softly.

“Mm-hmm.”

Merlin sucked on the tip of his earlobe and bit down on it very lightly. He felt Eggsy arch against him and he moved lower. He kissed Eggsy’s jaw and moved down the line of it. He moved lower, down to a bare part of Eggsy’s neck. Eggsy stiffened immediately.

“I’m not going to bite you,” he whispered gently. Merlin pulled back from him enough to look him in the eyes. “I couldn’t right now, anyway.”

Eggsy nodded. “Yeah…”

“I suppose I could _try_. I’d just have to gnaw my way through steel.”

He tipped his head slightly in a half-nod. He leaned forward and bit down on the collar just enough for Eggsy to feel the pressure. He made a show of gnawing on it; it surprised a laugh out of Eggsy. Merlin sat up and stroked Eggsy’s cheek.

“That’s better,” he said softly. “I like hearing you laugh.”

Eggsy met his gaze shyly and a slow grin appeared. “Ain’t had many reasons to…”

“Then we’ll have to change that.”

Eggsy watched him for a moment, and then leaned forward to softly kiss the underside of Merlin’s jaw. Merlin sighed softly; it was almost a growl. He put his hands on Eggsy’s shoulders and pushed him back a little.

“Sorry…”

“No, don’t apologize,” Merlin said. “You’ve done nothing wrong. But… physically showing me submission…”

Eggsy watched him for a moment, eyes wide. He could smell the arousal on Merlin; he knew very well the Alpha wanted to fuck him. He had told him, with that simple, physical act, that it was alright to do what he wanted. And he’d fully expected Merlin to push him down, to take what he was being offered, and not… push him away.

Merlin pressed a kiss to his shoulder. “Lay back,” he said softly.

Eggsy lay back. Merlin leaned over him and kissed just below the hollow of his throat, just below the collar. Eggsy felt his head tipping back, baring his throat completely to the Alpha. The Alpha who, again, did not take what was being offered to him.

Eggsy let out a low moan as the Alpha’s lips moved lowered. Heat shot through him as he felt Merlin’s teeth very lightly close on his nipple. He expected pain to follow the pleasant pressure, but it didn’t. Instead, Merlin started to move lower again. Eggsy’s hands sought out Merlin’s arms and he held _tight_ to the Alpha as the Alpha’s lips traveled down to his abs. And then he stopped.

Eggsy let out a needy whine. “Why…?”

Merlin laughed softly. “I said before that I wouldn’t go lower.”

Eggsy blinked up at him. It took him a moment to remember that, yes, Merlin _had_ stopped about there when he’d been scent-marking him. But, _fuuuck_ , he was hard and he was trembling and he kinda _wanted_ the Alpha to go lower.

“We could…” he paused uncertainly. “We could… go into the bedroom…”

Merlin’s brow rose curiously.

“No… I. I mean it.” He paused before continuing softly. “I want to.”

Merlin stood up and held his hand out. Eggsy rose and took his hand. He let Merlin lead him back to the bedroom the Alphas shared. Eggsy let out a low moan at the mixed scents of the Alphas. He felt his knees threaten to buckle, and then Merlin’s arms were around him.

“‘m okay,” he said softly.

Merlin laughed gently and picked him up. “Yes, I can see that.” He carried Eggsy to the bed and lay him down on it. He put his hands on Eggsy’s hips. “May I?”

Eggsy nodded.

Merlin opened the Omega’s trousers and slid them off of him. He didn’t touch the pants below and kept his fingers from brushing the bulge that seemed to be straining up toward his hands. He ran his fingers along Eggsy’s legs, stroking the Omega’s hard muscles. He knelt on the bed and lifted one of Eggsy’s legs. He kissed the ankle and up the calf. He lingered on the sensitive spot behind the knee.

Eggsy bent his leg over Merlin’s shoulder and pulled him lower. Merlin laughed against his skin and Eggsy arched up toward him with a whine. Merlin kissed his thigh and stopped before going any farther. Eggsy was about to complain and then he realized what Merlin was doing; Merlin had stopped about as far _below_ his groin as he’d stopped _above_.

He reached for Merlin’s arm and squeezed. “Please,” he whimpered.

“I’m not going farther, Eggsy,” he whispered against the Omega’s thigh.

“Nnn. Want you to.”

Merlin shrugged out from under Eggsy’s leg and lowered it back to the bed. He leaned over Eggsy, carefully keeping his own erection from pressing against him. “Do you?”

Eggsy hooked his legs around Merlin’s own and arched up against him. “Yes.”

Merlin groaned at the feeling of the Omega’s erection against his own. He lowered himself onto Eggsy. Eggsy slid his hands up onto Merlin’s shoulders and tugged. Merlin pressed a gentle kiss to his lips. Eggsy whined softly from it and Merlin kissed him again. Merlin opened his mouth and slid his tongue alone the Omega’s lips. Eggsy opened his mouth; Merlin tasted him and shared his breath.

Eggsy dug his fingers into Merlin’s shoulders. He arched up, pressing himself as tightly against the Alpha as he could. He was shaking, nearly crying from what Merlin was doing to him. From the soft, almost teasing pleasure he was being showered with. He cried out with _want_ , with _need_ when Merlin broke the kiss and slid off of him.

“Why?” he whimpered.

Merlin pulled him into his arms and against his chest. “Because I’m overwhelming you,” he said, pressing a kiss to his temple.

“But I’m willing…”

Merlin laughed softly. “Aye, I know.”

“I can go get you the key.”

Merlin stroked his cheek. “If you can walk into yer room-”

“Bathroom, actually.”

Merlin stared at him for a moment and then shook his head. “Alright, if you can walk into the _bath_ , get it, and come back… we can talk about it.”

“Alright.” He wiggled out of Merlin’s arms, tried to sit up, and then just flopped back with a sigh.

“Well?” Merlin teased.

Eggsy grumbled and rolled back into his arms. He was too shaky, too… too… relaxed and limp (well, _part_ of him sure wasn’t limp) to really stand up. “Fine,” he sulked. “Tomorrow then.”

He snuggled up against Merlin, still pouting. He’d never _wanted_ anyone to fuck him before, and the _first_ person he’d wanted… the first person he’d said he was willing for… wouldn’t take what he was being offered. This was an Alpha who’d watched him be fucked by three Betas; why wouldn’t-

He stiffened and sighed against Merlin. _This was an Alpha who’d watched him be raped._ Merlin knew… he’d been treated like that all his life. Merlin had to know this was the first time… that anyone… had treated him like this. Merlin had been asking him all night if things were okay… if things were alright. And once Merlin had realized what he wasn’t ready for… the Alpha had just… kept that boundary.

Merlin wanted him to… to… to actually consent? Was that it? Merlin wanted him to be willing because he was _actually_ willing and not cos Merlin had made him feel so good, so cared for…

He made a soft sound and settled in, his arms worming their way around the Alpha. Around _his_ Alpha. Around the man who would be his husband, his owner… Around the man who actually… seemed to _care_ about him.

03

He’d still been in Merlin’s arms when he’d woken. Merlin’s hand had been on his stomach and he’d felt the Alpha’s soft breathing on his shoulder. Every exhale on his skin made the fire growing in his belly burn all the hotter.

He’d ended up getting out of bed _well_ before Merlin. He took his sweet time in the shower, enjoying that it was just _him_ and that he _could_ take his time. He ran his hands over his face, and wasn’t surprised at finding just smooth skin. Even though Omegas didn’t hair up quickly, he’d gotten into the habit of shaving every-other day while in the barracks. But with him being in heat, he probably wouldn’t need to shave again until it passed.

Once he was finished and dried off, he sat in front of the sink and got the key out from where he’d hidden it. And then he just stared at it for a few minutes before standing up and watching himself in the mirror.

He unlocked the collar and set it on the counter, the key beside it. He tipped his head to the side. He could still see the scar from the last time he’d been claimed. Well… _he_ could see it, anyway. He wasn’t sure if it was really still visible or if… it was just _knowing_ where the scar should be. 

He ran his fingers along the spot and then shuddered. For as much as Merlin had shown he could be… trusted, maybe… to not just take what he wanted, the idea of being claimed again was still… frightening. But really, being claimed by the pack Alphas was… just about the best he could hope for (outside of that whole… ‘no, really, I love my Omega’ thing…). 

He wanted to be out on the sofa, waiting when Merlin was awake and without the collar on. But… he couldn’t bring himself to leave the bathroom without the collar on. He put it back on and locked it before pulling on a robe. He went out to wait for Merlin to get up.

It was only an hour before Merlin got up and shuffled into the bathroom. He grumbled something of a greeting as he passed by Eggsy, who bit back a grin at it. Harry always seemed fresh and alert to Eggsy, but Merlin? Merlin needed time to wake up.

Eggsy knew Merlin’s morning habits enough to have a cup of coffee just fabricating when the Alpha came out of the bathroom. He curled back up on the sofa and handed it to the still somewhat asleep Alpha.

He watched Merlin as he drank it. Usually he shaved every morning; he hadn’t this morning. Alphas, rather understandably, haired up fast. In another day or two, he’d have a nicely formed light beard. Eggsy got it. It would give him more the image of someone who didn’t stop over in a pack’s compound often.

Eggsy didn’t say anything until he knew Merlin would be awake enough. “Here,” he said quietly as he held out the key. “You… want this, yeah?”

Merlin was quiet for a moment. “For a while now, yeah,” he admitted. “Not… just because of the mission.”

Eggsy’s eyes widened a little. “Why didn’t you… like… tell me to get it…?”

Merlin shrugged and leaned back. He turned to face Eggsy and put his arm on the back of the sofa. “For one thing, you’re Michelle and Lee’s son. For another, you didn’t _want_ anyone to have it. Honestly, I’d assumed you’d tossed the key in the reclamation unit.”

Eggsy blushed lightly. He’d considered it. Considered… and then dismissed it.

“More practically, you hadn’t been close to another heat yet. There… wasn’t a reason to really talk about it.” He paused. “If it hadn’t been for the mission, I wouldn’t have brought it up.”

Eggsy shook his head. “Why not? You’re… my Alpha…”

Merlin smiled softly. “You… decided that because you offered yourself to me if I saved you. I _never_ planned on forcing you into that.” He spoke as if he hadn’t felt protective of the Omega; as if he hadn’t felt possessive of him. There was a huge difference between wanting to claim the Omega and forcing it on him.

Eggsy held the key out to him again. “You ain’t forcin’ me.”

Merlin took it from him and held it for a moment. “Turn around,” he said softly. 

Eggsy turned around, trying to keep his breath steady. Merlin had only been good to him so far; gentle so far. Still, as he felt the Alpha’s hands at his neck, he shuddered. Merlin murmured reassurances as he unlocked the collar and took it away.

Merlin placed a soft kiss on the back of his neck. “Where did he do it?” he asked softly.

Eggsy tipped his head to the side and touched the spot he’d been claimed. He closed his eyes, tensing up. And then he felt Merlin’s hands on his arms.

“Relax,” he whispered. “I’m not going to bite you.”

He pulled Eggsy back against his chest and kissed the spot he’d pointed to. He sucked on the spot, kissed it, licked it. It wasn’t long before Eggsy relaxed against him, soft little sounds of pleasure escaping him.

“Do you want to go to the bedroom?” Merlin asked softly, his breath on Eggsy’s skin.

“Mm-hmm.”

Merlin stood and guided Eggsy to his feet… and then he picked up the Omega. Eggsy’s arms went around Merlin’s neck, a soft little smile playing on his lips. Merlin was carrying him bridal-style. He found it a bit amusing and rather appropriate considering what was about to happen.

04

Merlin laid him down on the bed and sat beside him. He started untying Eggsy’s robe. “You’re alright with my claiming you?”

“Yes,” Eggsy said, laughing softly.

“And you’re alright if we have sex?”

“Fuck yes.”

Merlin smiled softly. “Do you want to be facing me or do you want me behind you?”

Eggsy frowned a little and pushed himself up onto his elbows. “They’re gonna expect to see a bite done from behind, ain’t they?”

Merlin nodded. “Fair point.” He pushed the robe off Eggsy’s shoulders. “What about my kissing your body? Touching you? Pleasuring you?”

He grinned and laughed a little, almost nervously. “That’s… that’s all fine. Why’re you even asking?”

“Why am I asking what you’ll consent to? What you might want?” Merlin laughed softly and stroked his cheek. “Because when you’re beneath me, I want you _enjoying_ what I’m doing to you. I don’t want you just… laying there, waiting for it to be over. I want you _willingly_ in my bed.”

Eggsy shivered. This was… all of his fantasies ever come to life. He watched as Merlin stood and started undressing. He pulled the robe out from under himself and let it fall to the floor. He eyed the Alpha, looking his body over. Fuck, he was so nicely muscled… and halfway hard. That… that made Eggsy nervous but Merlin had been so _adamant_ that he wanted this to be good for them _both_. He wanted to believe it… even if everything he knew said otherwise.

He rolled over, getting up on his hands and knees. He felt the mattress shift as Merlin knelt behind him. He expected to feel Merlin press into him but instead he felt Merlin’s hand on his arse. The Alpha’s hand slid lower and Eggsy whined softly, his legs spreading further. His skin was so oversensitive that the simple, but intimate, touch shot fire through him.

He felt Merlin’s fingers just teasing the puckered skin of his arsehole. He arched his arse up toward Merlin’s fingers, his head hitting the pillows and muffling a needy moan. Merlin kept his fingers just lightly teasing him. He wasn’t doing it just to be an arse. He wanted Eggsy to feel - _really_ feel - what it was like to want it; to feel the need and desire without the shame.

Merlin pressed two fingers inside of him. Instantly, he felt the Omega clench around him, as if trying to pull him deeper; as if his entire body was silently screaming for more. He hooked his fingers and gently massaged the Omega’s prostate. Eggsy cried out into the pillow, his hands clenching in the blankets. 

Merlin withdrew his fingers, letting out a low groan at the scent of Eggsy’s slick. He could see the younger man trembling. It was a lovely thing, seeing him so _wanting_ and _willing_. He sat up on his knees, his hands on Eggsy’s hips to steady the Omega as he pushed inside of him. Merlin leaned over him even as the younger man ground back against him. Eggsy arched up against him, his head tipping to the side ever so slightly. 

Merlin leaned his head between Eggsy’s shoulder blades. Their bodies fit together so perfectly. He’d realized before this that he wouldn’t want to give up _his_ Omega at the end of the mission; this only confirmed it for him.

He pressed a kiss to Eggsy’s shoulder and then wrapped his hand around the Omega’s cock. He stroked in time with his thrusts, and Eggsy met him every time. He listened to the sounds of the younger man’s cries as they rose in pitch and volume. He didn’t know Eggsy’s timing, nor was he entirely certain about how he sounded just before an orgasm, but… from the sound and the scent of him, Merlin felt he had to be close.

He let go of Eggsy’s cock and guided his head to the side. He expected resistance, or at least _hesitance_ , but the Omega let his head fall to the side with a softly needy whine. Merlin kissed the spot on his neck where he _knew_ a Beta had once laid claim to _his_ Omega, and then he bit down. Hard.

Blood flowed freely from the wound and Merlin held on tightly. Eggsy screamed and shook beneath him as he came, the sharp and sudden pain having pushed him over the edge. Merlin felt _his_ Omega slipping onto the blanket, even as he kept thrusting into the younger man. His movements had become less gentle; the taste of blood and the scent of his claim driving his much more primal and animalistic instincts.

Eggsy was flat on his stomach by the time Merlin came. He was breathing hard, his eyes glazed and half-lidded. He barely registered it when _his_ Alpha stiffened against him. He whined softly when Merlin let go of his neck, and then sighed as he felt _his_ Alpha licking the blood away.

Merlin left his side long enough to clean himself up. He cleaned and bandaged Eggsy once he returned, smiling at how completely out of it the Omega was. He lay down beside Eggsy, watching over him protectively as the Omega floated in a sea of endorphins and brain chemicals. 

05

Merlin was mostly asleep when he caught the first fragmented thought from Eggsy. It was a single, sleepily-confused word: _hurts_.

 _Your neck?_ , he tried, doubting it would work just yet but still needing to make the attempt.

An Omega’s connection to their husband always came within a few hours of claiming. The connection _to_ the Omega, on the other hand, could take days; and given how Eggsy had been treated the _last_ time he’d been claimed, Merlin wouldn’t be surprised if it took quite some time.

 _BitClaimedOwned_ hit Merlin in a single panicked burst, the three words overlapping and intermingling. Eggsy didn’t stir or move; the only real sign that he was awake was the quickening of his breath.

Merlin put a hand on his cheek, keeping the touch light. “You’re safe. _I_ bit you, remember? You’re safe.”

Eggsy’s eyes snapped open, and Merlin could see the fear in them. Eggsy’s eyes searched Merlin’s face as his hand went to the… bandage???... on his neck. A bandage… over the bite mark. Merlin had… taken care of him while he was out? He sat up on his arm, looking around uncertainly.

“We was… fuckin’... and… then you bit me…”

Merlin laughed softly. “And then… everything gets fuzzy?”

Eggsy nodded, looking back at Merlin. Nothing like that had happened the last time. He’d screamed, yes, but from pain and terror and not… a mix of pleasure and pain. And then he’d scrambled away from his _husband_ , wanting nothing more than the change in his scent to stop, to not happen.

“You… were expectin’ that…?”

Merlin put a hand on Eggsy’s shoulder and guided him to lay back down. He pulled _his_ Omega close and held him. “That’s the difference,” he said quietly, “between claiming a _terrified_ Omega and a _willing_ one.”

Eggsy leaned his head against Merlin’s chest… against his _husband’s_ chest. He shivered at the thought and felt Merlin’s arms tighten around him. It wasn’t painful; it wasn’t threatening… It was… comforting. Eggsy breathed a sigh, and then realized Merlin was projecting his scent. His Alpha was calming him… soothing him.

“I liked it,” he said quietly.

Merlin laughed softly and kissed his temple. “Good. I wanted you to.”

“What now…?”

“Well…” Merlin began, “if you’re up for it, we’ll get everything together to leave.” He took Eggsy’s hand and brought it close. He kissed his Omega’s wrist and then scented it with a soft sigh. “You’re mine and your neck will heal by the time we arrive. You may even be out of heat by then.”

Eggsy watched him for a moment. “It’s that far?”

Merlin nodded. “Aye. We’ll be traveling for… at least four days. Longer depending on if, and where, the lead takes us.”

“Then, we should get going now,” Eggsy said, sitting up and pulling himself out of Merlin’s arms. “I’m good to travel.”

Merlin got up and went into the lounge. Eggsy followed him, a very curious look on his face. Sure, they were alone in the flat, but he hadn’t expected Merlin to wander out of the bedroom without getting dressed. But Merlin went straight to the matter-energy converter and Eggsy nodded to himself. There’d been no point in getting dressed… just to get undressed and dressed again.

Eggsy watched as Merlin hit several menu options. A set of clothing fabricated and he watched as Merlin pulled them on. Merlin had created a pair of worn looking, dark brown leather trousers and a matching sleeveless vest. It left most of the Alpha’s tattoo visible; something Eggsy had noticed he didn’t do on days he worked. He felt heat shooting through him again as he looked at his leather clad Alpha.

Merlin eyed him once he was dressed and went back to the converter. He looked at Eggsy every so often as he went through clothing menus. He stopped on one option, looked it over, looked Eggsy over, and then nodded to himself.

“What do you think?”

Eggsy stepped over to the converter. The item on display was an ankle-length dress. It had wide sleeves and a high neckline. It was off-white and didn’t have much of a waist. Eggsy tipped his head while he considered, although he wanted to just refuse.

He hated wearing dresses and skirts. It wasn’t because he had something against the garments themselves, but because of his last _husband_. It was what he’d always been expected to be in, because it made fucking him easier than if he wore trousers; it had made it less work for the Beta.

“Why so… loose though?”

Merlin laughed softly and put a hand on the back of Eggsy’s neck. He squeezed just enough to make his Omega tip his head back. “Because,” he said, his voice quiet and deep, “I am very possessive about my property and I don’t want others getting ideas about touching what’s _mine_.”

Eggsy felt his knees wanting to buckle. His Alpha talking like that to him… about him… was turning him on in a way the leather hadn’t. He wasn’t sure if it was how his Alpha had deepened his voice or the honest possession in it. Whatever it was, it was making him want to go to his knees, to offer his utter submission.

Merlin chucked at the effect he was having on his Omega. “Is it acceptable?”

“Huh?” Eggsy blinked and then remembered what they were doing. He laughed, a bit embarrassed. “Yeah, it is.”

Merlin had it fabricate two things, handed them to Eggsy, and then went about making copies. Eggsy pulled the dress on. He looked down at what else Merlin had made for him, and then smiled softly. It was a pair of leggings, the same shade of off-white and short enough to not show under the dress.

He pulled them on with a shy, “Thank you.”

Merlin shook his head, moving onto supplies, a duffel, and six large canteens. “I got enough of your thoughts on the dress.” He looked at Eggsy. “I don’t want you to be afraid the entire mission.” He nodded to the clothing and supplies. “Can you pack this while I fill these?”

Eggsy nodded and started packing the duffel. He looked up at Merlin shyly every so often. He had _never_ felt like this with anyone. He had never felt so… so… He bit his lip, trying to find the words. ‘Safe’ and ‘protected’ occurred to him. He considered them while he finished packing and then nodded to himself. That’s what he was feeling: safe and protected by his husband.

He looked up and realized Merlin was watching him with an odd little smile. Eggsy flushed, wondering how much of that his Alpha had picked up on. “Done,” he said, hoping Merlin wouldn’t make fun of him for his thoughts.

“See if you can carry all of this,” Merlin said with a nod to the canteens.

Eggsy nodded and slung the duffel over one shoulder. He put the canteens on, one-by-one and testing how it felt before putting the next on. Once he had them all on, he shifted the weight and moved around a bit.

“Yeah. It’s a bit heavy with all the water, but… yeah, I can carry it.”

Merlin nodded and started taking them off of Eggsy and putting them on himself. Eggsy watched him with a softly adoring look. “I know about where we’re going. I’ll carry them until we’re a day out.”

It made sense to Eggsy. It would be _expected_ that he’d be carrying everything, and he’d been ready to carry it all. And here was Merlin… here was his _husband_ … taking the burden for him until he knew his wife would _have_ to. _Fuck_ , he could so easily…

His mind railed against that thought. He did _not_ want to finish it, not even to himself. Because _that_ idea terrified him. Being attracted to an Alpha was a enough dangerous thing. Feeling like _that_ about one? No. He _never_ wanted that.


	6. Chapter 6

01

He was curled up in the double sleeping bag, the tent blocking out the wind and filtering out most of the morning light. They’d been traveling for three days and Merlin had kept them going until late last night. He heard the sound of the tent’s zipper and groaned, snuggling deeper into the sleeping bag.

Merlin lay down beside him. “Come on.”

“No.”

Merlin laughed softly and nipped at his ear. “What? Do you just want to stay here all day?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“I’ve got food going.”

Eggsy shook his head a little, fighting to not grin. “Heated rations. Yum.”

Merlin slipped his arm into the bag, his fingers brushing along bare skin as he wrapped his arm around his Omega. “One of them is the liver sort. I _know_ you like that one.”

Eggsy frowned a little and rolled back against him. “Ain’t never _had_ a liver one…”

Merlin’s brow rose slightly. “According to Lancelot, the two flavors you ordered the _most_ were salmon and foie gras, both of which you've had on this trip already.”

Eggsy stared at him for a few moments, his cheeks turning pink. “...is… that how you say that…? Fwa gra? Thought it was foy grass…”

Merlin started slowly working the sleeping bag off of him. “It’s not our language.”

Eggsy grabbed at the sleeping bag and made a playful attempt at keeping it. Merlin growled softly, right at his ear. Eggsy shivered and let go of the bag.

“That… ain’t playin’ fair.”

“Nothing said I _have_ to play fair,” he said, his voice in that deep, low place that had nearly brought Eggsy to his knees. “Now get up.”

Eggsy grinned and tipped his head in a half-shrug. “Keep talkin’ like that, and I’ll get up.”

“Then I’ll keep talking like this,” Merlin growled. “And I’ll wait until you’re _firmly_ up… and then leave the tent. Now, if you think yer hand’ll feel as good as my voice sounds, by all means, stay in bed.”

Eggsy groaned softly and pressed back against him. “That’s cruel, that is.”

But he let Merlin finish pushing the sleeping bag off of him. He arched his back, showing off his nakedness, and grinned up at Merlin… and then pouted playfully when his Alpha didn’t respond to it. He hadn’t been this stubborn about going before, but today they’d be getting to the compound. Which meant they’d have to actually play their roles for once. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to go; he was just dragging his feet.

He rolled over and grabbed his clothes. He heard Merlin leaving the tent as he pulled the dress over his head. He rolled the sleeping bag up and packed away everything that was out of the duffel. He tossed the duffel out of the tent and then left it, himself.

Merlin was already eating his ration pack. Eggsy sat beside him and got his own pack off the grate. The fire had burned down during the night, but there was still enough for Merlin to toss the trash from his ration pack in it. He brushed his fingers along Eggsy’s cheek before getting up to break down the tent.

By the time Eggsy finished, Merlin had the tent broken down. The tent was clipped to the duffel bag and the sleeping bag was strapped to the side of it. Eggsy tossed his trash in the dying fire, waited for it to burn up, and then put the fire out. Once he was satisfied, he slung the duffel over his shoulder. He slung the empty canteens on the same side as the duffel and the few that still held water on the other side.

He looked at Merlin and sighed. “How far?”

“Two, three hours,” Merlin said with a nod in the direction.

Eggsy smiled a little and followed him. He’d had a feeling that was why Merlin had wanted to go for so long the night before, so they wouldn’t be far away from their destination. He shifted the weight he was carrying. He could easily carry it for more than a few hours. Fuck, Merlin had been carrying it practically all day the last few days. Which, really, he hadn’t had to do but he’d insisted on it.

02

A couple hours later, Eggsy got his first look at the compound they were heading toward. It wasn’t… really a compound. It looked more like a village. It sat sorta at a crossroads, although Eggsy wasn’t sure how traveled those roads were. 

What he _did_ know, however, was that they either were or would soon be in sight of whatever scouts or guards or whatever kept watch on the town. Thus far, he’d been good at looking the part of the unhappy Omega. He’d kept his eyes lowered, and off of Merlin’s arse; there would be _no_ looking unhappy if _that_ was where his gaze was. But now he forcibly brought his last _husband_ to mind. He thought about that, and about the way he’d been treated in Dean’s pack.

He saw Merlin stiffen and knew his husband had picked up on some of his thoughts. “Gotta smell unhappy, yeah?”

“Yes,” he said, the single word clipped. “It doesn’t mean I _like_ it.”

Eggsy grinned and then forced it off of his face. Merlin had been… so _good_ to him. A huge part of Eggsy didn’t want to think it was real; that part of him was afraid that it was just some form of manipulation. But he _really_ wanted it to be real. Even if Merlin kept his word and didn’t claim him again once his next heat came.

He thought about it while they walked. Not… strictly that, or even intentionally. It was just as he thought about how he’d been treated before, he couldn’t help but think about how he was being treated _now_. As they crossed into the village, he forced himself to think strictly about his last _husband_.

He followed Merlin to a bar. There were only a couple people inside; mostly they were eating and not drinking. Merlin went up to the bar and sat. Eggsy stood at his side until Merlin nodded toward the seat next to him. Eggsy shifted the bag so he could sit and Merlin put a hand on the back of his neck. It was very clearly not an affectionate gesture; it was one of pure possession.

The bartender came over and Merlin ordered a drink for himself. Eggsy got some coin out of the duffel bag. They were pre-cataclysm but traders often took them anyway. The bartender looked the coins over, shrugged, took them, and got Merlin his drink.

“There’s more in it for yeh if you can give me information.”

The bartender eyed him for a moment. “What kind?”

“Show him.”

Eggsy dug through the duffel and got a pair of sketches out. He handed them to the bartender without a word.

“Yeah, they came through here. ‘Bout two weeks ago.”

Merlin nodded and took the sketches back. “Any idea where they went?”

The bartender shook his head. “No. Someone else might know.”

Merlin nodded again and Eggsy handed him some coin. Merlin finished his drink, slowly, and without a word or another glance at Eggsy. It made Eggsy’s skin crawl to just have to sit there, silently, acting as nothing more than another possession. He hated it; hated the feeling of it.

After a bit, Merlin knocked back the remainder of his drink and stood up. He led Eggsy outside and then nodded toward a traders area.

“Supplies,” he snapped.

Eggsy nodded. “Yes, husband,” he said softly, submissively.

He went down to the traders area and got their canteens refilled. He walked around the area after that, looking for foodstuffs that they could take with them easily. He bought a few things, including a little basket of berries that he’d have to carry. But that was fine; it wasn’t as if it weighed much.

He found Merlin talking with some locals and waited a respectful distance away. Once Merlin was done, he nodded and Eggsy went over to him. Merlin eyed the basket of berries with some annoyance and then took a handful.

“Did you have any luck, husband?” he asked softly.

“I think they went north,” Merlin mocked, shooting a look in the direction of the local who’d told him that. “Like there’s nae a lot of north.”

Eggsy said nothing. He knew the silence would be expected of him. Fuck, he _hated_ this. But… if it meant finding his dad. Well… he’d endure it as he needed to. He followed Merlin as he left the village.

They traveled for a little while - maybe a quarter of an hour - before Eggsy realized they were being followed. He thought it was one person, but it could have been two. They were traveling upwind; Eggsy had no way of being certain beyond what he was hearing every so often.

 _Followed_.

Merlin nodded once. He’d noticed it, too, although he was certain it was just a single person. He waited until they were well beyond the little village before stopping and turning around. “Yeh may as well come out.”

One of the locals from the village came out from behind a tree; he’d ducked behind it when he'd realized he'd been spotted. He shrugged a bit nervously. “Never can tell with you types.”

“Mm,” was all he got from Merlin.

“Heard you was lookin’ for some people what came through here.”

Merlin nudged Eggsy, who got the sketches out. The local nodded.

“Yeah. Don’t remember the man, but I remember the woman. Fine lookin’ piece of arse, that one.”

Eggsy put the sketches away and Merlin’s hand slid up to his neck again.

“So. They went…?”

The local shrugged. “I want something in return.”

“Uh-huh,” Merlin said. “And you want…?”

He nodded at Eggsy. “Twenty minutes with your bitch.”

Merlin’s hand tightened on Eggsy’s neck and he growled. It wasn’t a playful thing, or a warning. It was a clear, possessive threat.

_I’ll do it._

Merlin squeezed his neck once, and just enough for Eggsy to feel the change in pressure.

_To find dad._

“Tell me what you know. If it’s helpful, you can have twenty minutes with her,” Merlin said, relenting finally.

The local smiled slowly as the Omega knelt and started unburdening himself. This was… his favorite hobby. He paid attention to as much as he could, and when a swaggering Alpha came through looking for something or someone, he paid attention. He figured out what they were the most possessive of and then traded the information for the use of it. It was a dangerous game, but he’d always come out on top. And he knew this Alpha with his beaten down Omega would be no different.

Eggsy went over to him, his head down. He was willing to do this for the mission, but he didn’t _want_ to do it. He felt the local’s hand on his arm and was about to let himself be led… when Merlin’s hand fell on his other arm.

“Information first,” he growled.

The local eyed Merlin for a moment and then shrugged. “Fine, _if_ I can do more than just fuck her.”

“Such as?”

“She looks like the type that’d scream very prettily.”

“Aye, she does,” Merlin nodded. “Deal, as long as she can still walk when you’re done with her.”

“Deal.” He paused, very pleased with himself. “They _were_ taken north, by a bounty hunter. There’s an Alpha who pays nicely for Omegas. It’s… a decent walk. You’ll pass a fort - and I don’t recommend trying to stop in there - and a couple villages before you come to an old road. It’s a _great_ road, far wider than normal. Follow that west and you’ll find a… dunno if I’d call it a fort or a village, but it’s kinda both. They’ll be there.”

Merlin nodded and let go of Eggsy’s arm. He watched as Eggsy was lead a bit out of sight of the road and then followed, quietly. He stayed back, just enough to not be noticed by the fucker.

“What d’you want first, hm? To be fucked or beaten?”

Eggsy shrugged silently. Merlin hadn’t even given him time to react to the demand. He’d just… accepted it. But, he supposed, he’d said he’d do it… even _if_ that had been when he’d thought it was just going to be fucking.

“Beaten it is then,” he said, smiling slowly. “Go find me a nice looking switch.”

Eggsy nodded and turned from him to find something suitable. He found a decently long, thin branch and broke it off. He brought it back and… make a weak sound. Merlin had come closer in the time Eggsy had been getting a switch.

“Problem?”

Eggsy shook his head and then lowered it. He’d actually started to _trust_ Merlin. He’d known it was a stupid thing to do, but he’d done it anyway. He felt the man’s hands on him, pulling the dress up. He looked up and startled… because now Merlin was right _behind_ the man. He watched as Merlin snapped his would-be assailant's neck.

“You scared the fuck out of me,” he said quietly.

Merlin held his arms out and Eggsy stepped over the corpse. Merlin wrapped his arms around his Omega and held him close. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t going to let you go through with any of it, Eggsy,” he said softly.

Eggsy burrowed into his arms, silently berating himself for not trusting his Alpha; for not trusting Merlin.

“Stop,” Merlin said softly. “Trust takes time to build.”

Eggsy looked up at him, a soft smile forming. He pushed up onto tiptoe and kissed his husband's mouth. His hands slid up Merlin's chest, his mouth opening. His eyes slipped shut as he felt the Alpha's tongue slide along his lips. He leaned into it, melting against Merlin and-

The corpse at his feet groaned and Eggsy jumped. He looked down at the not-quite dead man. His neck was at an odd angle and Merlin sighed irritably.

"I'd appreciate it if yeh didn't mention this to Arthur," he said, letting go of Eggsy and crouching beside the local. "I could leave him to die slowly or make a clean kill of it. Your choice."

Eggsy looked down at him. Part of him - a _big_ part - wanted to tell Merlin to leave him to suffer. He doubted that he was the only Omega the bastard had pulled this with. But… he'd gone through some of the Guard's training. He'd been taught more about honor and being a gentleman. And a _gentleman_ would make it clean. 

He opened his mouth to say as much, but what came out instead was: "Either's fine by me."

He thought about correcting himself, but instead he shrugged and walked back out to the road. He started shouldering their belongings. He went slowly until he heard Merlin coming near. He stood up, shifting the weight so it was as even as it could be. 

"I don't want to know," he said softly. "I trust your judgement."

Merlin nodded. He thought he understood. He'd caught Eggsy's desire for his would-be rapist to die slowly; he'd caught the undertone of pleasure in that thought. He thought Eggsy didn't want him to catch the disappointment that would come with knowing that he'd made it clean. He wasn't entirely wrong.

03

It took them another week to find the great road. It was twice the width of the roads they’d been traveling, the ones they’d been _able_ to travel by, anyway. There was a sign advertising someone’s desire to buy Omegas and they followed the signs.

It was only a few hours walk from where they’d gotten onto the great road to the fort. It looked about as big as Dean’s compound. Either it was a small pack or they’d built more underground. There were guards standing at the entrance, and Eggsy rushed forward a couple steps so he could put a hand on Merlin’s arm. He knew Merlin would hear him if something happened, but it was a _comfort_.

He kept his eyes down as they passed through the gate. He barely heard Merlin tell them why they were there. For the first time, he really wished their bond had gotten to the point where he could hear Merlin the way Merlin could hear him. Or even just get a sense of feelings from him. Because he was _afraid_ of being in this place that was run by an Alpha who bought up any Omega he could.

There was an open courtyard through the gate which led to the main building. Eggsy found it a little odd that there were only two buildings. One of them was clearly the main building; the other was smaller and looked less maintained. It wasn’t hard to tell that it was where the Omegas were housed. He could smell them and their fear; he unconsciously tightened his hand on Merlin’s arm.

Merlin led him into the main building. Eggsy looked up, intending to just take a brief look at his surroundings, and gasped. The interior was much more… Well, he didn’t have a word for it. He’d seen pictures - old, faded pictures - from pre-cataclysm books showing places that looked like this.

A woman came into the entryway. She was short and petite, with mid-length, dark hair. Her footfalls sounded odd to Eggsy and he looked around Merlin to see why. Her lower legs were missing and had been replaced by metal prosthetics which ended in sharp-looking points.

"Selling her?" she asked, clearly expecting that was his business. 

"I hadn't planned to, no," Merlin said, snapping his fingers at Eggsy. A moment later, the folded up bounty images were in his hand. "I've been tracking a pair of runaways. Been told they'd be here."

She took the pictures from him and frowned slightly. She eyed Merlin for a moment before shrugging and offering them back to him. "I'll show you to his office."

She led them upstairs and to an immaculate office. It was decorated in the same style the entryway had been. There were two chairs, and the woman indicated one for Merlin before leaving them. Eggsy set their gear down beside Merlin and sat at his feet. The Alpha put a hand on his neck for a moment and squeezed gently, reassuringly. Eggsy looked up at him, just briefly enough to smile for the gesture.

The woman returned in short order with a man Eggsy assumed to be the pack Alpha. His scent was _strong_ and almost a little dizzying. It took Eggsy a moment to realize the Alpha was projecting his scent. Merlin wasn’t showing any reaction to the scent. All he did was lazily turn his head to look at the pair.

“Richmond Valentine,” the Alpha said, offering his hand. 

“Hammond,” Merlin answered, neither rising nor taking the proffered hand.

Eggsy could _see_ the flicker of annoyance in Valentine’s eyes. He shifted a little on the floor, fighting the instinct to get away from the two Alphas, because Merlin was _intentionally_ antagonizing Valentine. And _that_ could lead to a challenge.

“Gazelle said you’re lookin’ for a couple bounties,” he said as he took the empty chair. “What makes you think they’re here?”

“Tracked ‘em this far,” Merlin said blandly. “Do yeh have ‘em or no?”

“One of them,” he said, settling back against the chair. “Costly one, that bitch.”

Merlin sighed irritably. “So yer lookin’ for compensation, aye?”

Valentine scoffed. “I’m already sittin’ on a motherfuckin’ fortune. I need things that’re beyond money.”

Merlin stared at Valentine, his own scent starting to spike. Was… _everyone_ just gonna demand to fuck _his_ Omega? Was it just sort of a Thing in these parts?

Valentine laughed at Merlin’s reaction; there was a derisive edge to it. “Not like that, my man! I own plenty of girls if that’s what I’m lookin’ for. No, what I need is… research data.”

“Research data,” Merlin repeated.

“Yeah. Shit, I can get data off Omegas easy enough, but a _claimed_ one?” He shook his head. “Bit harder to get data off them.”

“What are you proposing?”

“Simple: you let me run an experiment on her. Nothin’ that’s gonna damage her, and I don’t even have to touch her. She tells me how it affects her. If she can’t, well, you can tell me what sense you get from her. Once it’s done, I’ll give you your bounty and we’ll both have somethin’ we need.”

Merlin considered for a moment. “What’s the experiment?”

“Simple. I’ve got a collar that works perfectly on unclaimed Omegas. I’ll put on one her, let it calibrate, and then run through the settings and see what differences show up.”

“A punishment device?”

Valentine grinned. “I don’t wanna say. Might influence the results, you know? But the effects aren’t permanent. They should fade… within minutes of it being shut off.”

Merlin watched him for a moment, _pointedly_ ignoring what he was picking up from Eggsy. Not that Eggsy was protesting, no, not at all. He was _offering_ himself up again, for his father’s sake. He was going to have to have a word with Harry - or both of them - about the Omega’s apparent penchant for self-sacrifice when it came to family.

“Fine.”

Valentine nodded at the woman, at _Gazelle_. She left for a moment and came back with a metal collar that was thickly padded. She put it on Eggsy and snapped it closed. A small panel on the side of it popped up and she took it out of its place.

“You want him to do it?”

Valentine shrugged. “All the same to me.”

Merlin held his hand out for it and studied the little panel. It was clearly a remote of some variety. It was a touch pad and the setting went from 0 to 5. He could see notches and grooves along the sides of it.

“Key and controller,” he said appreciatively. 

“Turn it on and let it calibrate to her.”

Merlin tapped the pad and Eggsy hissed in pain. Merlin eyed Valentine, a silent threat in his eyes.

“Chill, man, I said it had to calibrate to her. It just takes a little blood, just a few drops.”

It was a few moments before the collar beeped and Valentine nodded to Merlin. Merlin turned it to the first setting. Eggsy… stiffened a little, his head tipping slightly. _Something_ was off; _something_ was wrong. But he didn’t know… what. He _did_ know, however, that he didn’t like it.

“Well?” Valentine prompted.

Eggsy shrugged. “I dunno. Feels…” He shook his head. “Uncomfortable? I guess?”

Valentine nodded. “Anything else?”

Eggsy shook his head. “No. Just… kinda uncomfortable.”

“Turn it up.”

Merlin did so and Eggsy felt more of the vague discomfort. He couldn’t really identify _what_ the issue was, not until they got it to the third level. And then his eyes _widened_ as he realized _what_ the collar was doing to him.

“Looks like she’s feeling it finally,” Gazelle said.

Valentine nodded, making notes. “Haven’t had one _not_ feel it on level one.”

“Well, there’s the one they’re after.”

“Yeah, but that one’s…” Valentine waved it off. “She’s _different_. It’s what happens when you let an Omega act like she’s something more than that.”

Merlin tried to keep from showing any reaction, to the comment _or_ Eggsy. He could _feel_ Eggsy’s mounting panic; it was a wordless thing, beating against his mind like a trapped bird. He watched as Gazelle came over to them and crouched in front of Eggsy. She reached out to him and Merlin’s own hand shot out, grabbing her by the wrist.

“Easy, man. It’s just part of the data gathering.”

Merlin’s lips pulled back in a snarl and he kept his eyes locked on Valentine’s as he let go of the woman. She seemed to not be bothered at all by Merlin’s reaction to her and just stroked Eggsy’s cheek. He shuddered away from her hand, turning his head toward Merlin’s legs and leaning against them.

“Interesting,” Valentine said. “Have you claimed her many times?”

“She came into my possession just before her last heat.”

“Hm, and yet she’s still seeking you out for… either comfort or protection.” He watched Eggsy for a moment. “That certainly isn’t something that’s happened with the unclaimed, for obvious reasons. Does she know to look to you for either of those things?”

Merlin growled low in his throat. “She _knows_ that she belongs to _me_.”

Valentine nodded. “Could be outta fear then.” He nodded away from Merlin and Gazelle stood and moved back to his side. “Touch her; anywhere’s fine.”

Merlin eyed Eggsy for a moment. There had been no real change in his scent. The Omega was frightened, yes, but… there was nothing beyond that. He reached out to his Omega and stroked his cheek. Eggsy’s reaction was instantaneous and far different from when Gazelle had touched him. He sighed, almost whimpering, and tipped his head against Merlin’s hand. His face was torn by clearly conflicting emotions; torn by his fear and… and _desire_ , Merlin realized.

“You put her in heat.”

Valentine chuckled. “Nah, man, that takes hormone injections. This is _simulated_. The collar is calibrated to her and just making her _think_ she’s in heat. I assume her resistance to it is because she’s claimed; her body isn’t seeking that out.” He smiled slightly. “Turn it all the way up.”

Merlin hesitated, but Eggsy didn’t tell him anything. Or if he did, it was drowned out by the panic still beating against his mind. He wished their bond had gotten strong enough that Eggsy could hear him, then he could at least be certain Eggsy was, at least to some degree, willing to endure it.

He decided to do it, to turn it up the rest of the way, and then the fear that had been beating against his mind was gone. He heard Eggsy shudder a breath and then felt the Omega rubbing his hands along his calves. He kept his attention blandly on Valentine, as if Eggsy’s affections didn’t bother him in the least. He felt the Omega’s hands moving higher and felt Eggsy kissing his way up his trousers.

In another time and place - one where Eggsy _wanted_ to do this and wasn’t because he was being manipulated into it - he would have let Eggsy continue. Now, though, he kicked Eggsy away from him with a snarl he didn’t feel. The Omega whined and rolled onto his back, running his hands through his hair, down his face and chest. Some weak vestige of normal thought kept him from moving his hands lower than his abs, down to where the dress was tenting.

Merlin had to bite down the reaction that wanted to come as seeing Eggsy writhing on the floor like that. He doubted Eggsy would be capable of fighting anyone’s advances just now. Eggsy hadn’t even been that bad off the night the Betas had raped him. Merlin could hear Valentine and Gazelle talking, apparently pleased that Eggsy showed none of his resistance to the highest level.

“That’s all I need, my man. I’ll have Gazelle meet you outside with your bounty.” He paused, an almost darkly salacious grin crossing his features. “Of course if you wanna _buy_ that collar…”

Merlin looked back down at Eggsy, keeping his face firmly neutral as he listened to his Omega’s needy whimpers. Eggsy’s hands were now on his thighs and Merlin could see the young man struggling to keep from touching himself and giving into his need with a strange Alpha and Beta in the room with him.

He forced a slow smile and looked back up at Valentine. “And what’s _that_ goin’-ta run me?”

They haggled over the collar for a few minutes. Merlin left the collar on the entire time. He didn’t want to; he’d wanted to shut it off from the moment he’d seen just how _badly_ it affected Eggsy. But… he knew the role he was playing, knew the sort of person he was being seen as. He knew it would look more than a little strange if he prioritized his property’s comfort over his own enjoyment.

For his part, Eggsy was unaware of much beyond the utter _need_ to be fucked; of the scent of his Alpha so close to him. His body was on fire and it had been all he could do to keep from pulling the dress up and taking himself in hand. If it hadn’t been for the other two scents in the room, if it had just been him and his Alpha, he would have done it.

The constant, pressing need started to fade. He was still laying on the floor, panting, when he became aware of the Alphas talking. They were talking about how he might not remember being fucked with the collar all the way up. He heard Valentine joke about how most Omegas quickly learned to behave when they felt the collar turn on.

Eggsy forced himself to sit up. He could _feel_ how wet he’d gotten, but at least he didn’t feel like he’d been fucked. And he’d been aware enough to keep from trying to pull off, so he thought he might have remembered if he _had_ been fucked.

It didn’t keep him from feeling humiliated, however, and he scooted over to their gear without even looking up at Merlin. He felt his Alpha nudge his shoulder and he gathered up their gear without a word, and then followed Merlin and Gazelle downstairs.

_Take it off please take it off I can’t I can’t_

Merlin looked at him and nodded, but then nodded at Gazelle. Eggsy nodded and curled up on himself a little, trying to keep from giving in to his panic. He’d understood Merlin’s meaning, that he would once they were away from this pack, but he wanted it off _now_. It was all he could do to keep silent as they went out into the courtyard and Gazelle left them to get the Omega they’d come for.

“Once we’re out of sight and I’m certain we’re not bein’ followed,” Merlin said, almost too softly for him to hear. “It’ll come off and you’ll never have it on again.”

_Thank you_

It was a couple minutes before Gazelle returned with an Omega in tow, one who was certainly not Lee but the other one they'd had a picture of. The Omega's arms were tied behind her back, both at the wrists and elbows. Her ankles were tied, as well, giving her enough slack to walk but not to run. Gazelle handed her leash off to Merlin and he led them out of the compound, biting down on his annoyance that they’d gotten close again, and again come away without Lee.


	7. Chapter 7

01

Merlin kept hold of the woman’s leash and led her at a pace that she could follow easily enough. He hadn’t heard anyone following them nor caught a scent, but they were upwind; there _would_ be no catching a scent. He ended up having to keep up his act until they stopped for the night. It was only then that he could look around without seeming suspicious.

“Tent,” he snapped, tossing the leash to Eggsy.

“Yes, husband,” he said softly.

He understood what Merlin was doing and why. He helped the other Omega sit down and started getting the tent set up. Every movement he made shifted the collar and he’d been uncomfortably aware of its presence ever since they’d left the compound. He tried to focus on getting the tent set up while Merlin had his look around.

Eggsy had the tent most of the way set up by the time the Alpha returned. Merlin had gotten wood for a fire while he’d been looking around. Eggsy glanced at him as he set it down, and then he Alpha went to him and wrapped his arms around his waist.

“We’re clear, pet,” he said right against Eggsy’s ear.

Eggsy shivered in his arms, and then Merlin pulled away from him. He heard the click as the collar’s key snapped into place and he sighed with relief as Merlin took it off his neck. He rubbed his neck, savoring the feel of having that collar off of him. And then he laughed.

“Are you alright?”

“Jus’... before this whole thing, I never wanted to be without one.”

Merlin kissed his temple. “I’m glad you like not having one on.” He went over to where the other Omega was sitting and sat beside her. “I’ll untie you, but I need you to not run, alright? At least not until we’ve spoken about something.”

She glared at him, her lips pulling back in a snarl.

“He means it,” Eggsy said, going over to sit with them. “We just want to ask a few questions, that’s all. And then you can go where you want.”

She looked from one to the other. “Not him,” she said to Eggsy.

“Yeah, sure. That’s fine.”

Eggsy got behind her and started untying her arms. He helped her slowly move them around in front of herself and started rubbing them, trying to help her get the feeling back in them. Once she seemed to not be in as much pain, he untied her ankles.

“You want me to untie the leash?”

She gave him something of a sour look. “I can get it,” she sneered at him and started untying the rope around her neck. “You had questions.”

Eggsy got out the picture of his father. “You were with him for a bit, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“We’re lookin’ for him. We’re from his pack an’-”

“And he ran away?”

Eggsy shook his head. “No. The last Alpha sold him without his husband’s consent. She wants him back.”

Her brow rose at his calling the Omega ‘he’ and his Alpha-or-Beta ‘she’. “So he’s not really a bounty hunter.”

Merlin looked more than a little annoyed at being talked about rather than to, but he said nothing. He got what she was doing. It was how most people talked about an Omega; as if they weren’t in the room or were below notice. He sat there quietly, the way an Omega would be expected to. If she wanted to play this way, he could play along.

“No. He’s friends with them both.”

She scoffed. “Friends with an Omega?”

“Yeah. Our pack’s… kinda weird.” He grinned. “It ain’t been my pack long, but… it ain’t like nothin’ I ever thought I’d have.”

She watched him for a moment and then looked at Merlin for a moment. “So this… what? _Progressive_ pack of yours… Let’s say I wanted something in return for the information.”

Eggsy looked at Merlin, who nodded. “What d’you want?”

“Well… if you actually grabbed information about my bounty, you know I ran from the mainland.”

“Yes,” Merlin said. “And you’re to be returned to a ship to the south-east.”

She nodded. “I want transport back to the mainland, without them knowing. Once I’m on the mainland, I’ll tell you what I know.”

“The pack Alpha has connections that could see that done, but he would have to be the one to agree to this.”

She crossed her arms. “I suppose I’ll have to go into your territory to meet him.”

Merlin shrugged. “If you want to wait outside the compound, a solitary Omega, that’s your choice. I give you my word that if you come in, you’ll be allowed to leave whenever you want and no one will bother you.”

She studied Merlin’s face for a few moments. She wanted to tell him to leave and let them talk alone, but the two of them were bonded. There wouldn’t _be_ any alone with the Alpha in his Omega’s mind. “Fine,” she sighed.

Merlin nodded once and went to build up the fire. “Eggsy, grab us some ration packs?”

Eggsy brought him three packs and waters. Merlin made them, keeping them close to the fire so they’d heat up. Once they’d absorbed all of the water, Merlin handed her one. She took it, sniffed at it, and started eating it.

Merlin nodded toward Eggsy. “He’s Eggsy; I’m Merlin. What should we call you?”

“Tilde.”

02

Their return trip went much faster. They stopped only when necessary, Eggsy and Tilde waiting well outside of the village or compound. The two Omegas had gotten to know each other fairly well by the time they returned to Kingsman’s compound. Tilde still wouldn’t talk to Merlin if she could help it, but she _had_ stopped pointedly ignoring him.

She was unimpressed with the exterior of the compound, even if Eggsy’s grinning made her curious as to what was so special about this small, poorly formed place. They brought her down into the compound proper and she sighed a gasp as she saw how much _more_ there was to the place.

“Arthur will want to speak with you immediately,” Merlin told her.

She eyed Eggsy, silently asking him to go with them. He nodded and took her by the hand. He understood the fear of being alone with at least two Alphas. He knew it had to be worse for her, being a runaway with a bounty on her head. If Merlin was bothered by the showing of affection, he didn’t show it; he just led the pair down to Arthur’s office and showed them inside.

Harry looked up, a bit hopefully, as they entered. He hid his disappointment well and stood, offering his hand to the young woman. He saw how wary she looked at the proffered hand and lowered it.

“I’m Arthur,” he began. “The Alpha of this pack. Might I ask your name?”

“Tilde.” She watched as Merlin moved into the room. Her blue eyes darted to the door and saw it open and unguarded. She could, at least, bolt if she needed to.

“Tilde had been… traveling… with Lee for a while. She has the information we’d like, but she does have her own request for it.”

Harry nodded and motioned to the chairs on the opposite side of his desk. He sat, as did Merlin; neither Alpha was surprised when she did not. “Please, tell me what you want for this information.”

“Passage back to the mainland. _Quietly_.”

Harry nodded in understanding. “You want to lose the bounty hunters. We have contacts to the far south. It’ll take a scouting team at least five days to get there; it is very likely to take them longer, however.”

Tilde rolled her eyes. “Of course.”

Harry sighed internally and forced a smile. He couldn’t really blame her for not believing him, but he still did not like her attitude toward him. He was the pack Alpha; such a position normally garnered him some level of respect from his guests. While he understood her reasons, he still felt the instinctual reaction of an Alpha being challenged by an Omega.

“You’re from the mainland, so I’m sure you have no idea about the local… uh… politics, shall we say.”

She watched him for a moment. “No, I don’t.”

“There used to be a city to the south. A great city and there’s a road that encircles it. It was struck rather hard during the cataclysm and it still isn’t safe to travel. There’s a great deal of what they called radiation still in the city. Do you know the word?”

She nodded. “It’s something that makes you sick.”

“Yes, exactly, and because of the great population of the city, a number of packs live near road. Some of them are usually safe enough to deal with, but plenty of them are not. Due to the fact that they will have to go around the city and keep a rigid watch, it will slow them down.”

She sighed. It made sense enough that she couldn’t really argue with it. But that meant that she’d have to stay here for two weeks, and that was _if_ the team got a favorable answer right away. “Alright. I suppose that means I need to be put up somewhere.”

“Yes, you will be. We’ll find you quarters, although you’ll be staying with someone. We don’t presently have a set of empty quarters.”

“She could stay with us,” Eggsy offered. “In my old room.”

Merlin smirked just a little. “So you’ll be sleeping with me… _and_ Harry?”

Eggsy’s mouth opened but no sound came out. He shook his head and tried again. “Guess I did… just say that.”

“It’s alright, Eggsy. We can find her someplace else.”

“Would you feel safer stayin’ with us?”

Tilde looked over at Eggsy and was quiet for a moment. “I… would feel safer staying with _you_.”

Eggsy nodded. “Then… yeah… I’ll sleep with the both of you.”

Merlin held a hand out to him and Eggsy took it. “And that’s all it will be, Eggsy.”

Eggsy smiled, a little shyly. He believed Merlin; Merlin had shown more than once that he wouldn’t let someone abuse him. He… trusted that Merlin wouldn’t let his own husband hurt him. He knew it could bite him in the arse if Harry challenged Merlin, but… he trusted Merlin to at least _try_ to keep him safe.

“Then if there’s nothing else Arthur needs her for, I c’n take her up and get her settled in.”

03

“And this’ll be your room,” Eggsy said, showing her the room.

She stepped inside and looked around. She was a little surprised that a pair of Alphas had given their Omega a room that… was actually well furnished. She had to wonder if Arthur, or Harry, or whatever he wanted to be called actually… was what Eggsy thought him to be. And she _had_ noticed that Eggsy didn’t show much in the way of fear toward the Alpha who’d claimed him. The times he _had_ shown fear, the Alpha had stopped whatever he was doing and soothed him.

Still… no Alpha was really _that_ good.

“They let you keep this?” she asked, picking up his collar.

Eggsy grinned and laughed a bit sheepishly. “Well… he only claimed me for the mission and…” He shrugged. “You ever been claimed?”

She gave him a look that clearly said this was not a topic she was willing to speak on.

“I had been. Once. Swore I’d never let it happen again.”

It was… the only good thing about having not found his dad yet. They had spent not quite a month on the road, and it would be a good three weeks before they got Tilde to the mainland. _Or longer_ , his mind whispered excitedly. And then there would be following up on her information. That meant he might be in heat again before the mission was over, which meant Merlin might _have_ to claim him again.

…fuck, was he _really_ looking forward to that? To having Merlin’s teeth in his flesh? To leaving his mind (and, if he was honest, his heart) open to an Alpha? To belonging to him for another three months? He sighed softly, because yes, yes he was.

“I fabricated it a bit after I came here. Wore it until Merlin claimed me.”

Her eyes widened slightly. “They let you _fabricate_ it?”

He nodded. “Yeah. We got a bunch of matter-energy converters here. There’s actually one out in the lounge.”

She turned the collar this way and that, idly playing with it. “Could I… borrow this? While I’m here?”

Eggsy shrugged. “Can make you your own if you want. Then you can keep it when you leave.”

She shook her head. “I don’t want to use up your rations.”

Eggsy grinned. “We’re sittin’ on… um… I think he called it geothermal energy? Ain’t got no rations cos it’s endless.”

She stared at him for a moment. Her pack had one converter and they’d been kept on tight rations. But they hadn’t had an un-fucking-limited supply. “Do you think… when I leave I could make some supplies?”

“Sure,” he said. “You know… you _could_ stay. It’s great here.”

She shook her head. “I won’t be some Alpha’s slave.”

He opened his mouth to protest, to tell her he wasn’t the only happily claimed Omega, to tell her that there were Omegas who held good jobs and even one on the Guard. He closed his mouth again and laughed softly. He hadn’t believed James; he knew she wouldn’t believe him.

He nodded toward the doorway. “We’ll go make you a collar. There’s other patterns; you might like one more’n that.”

They went out into the lounge and Eggsy settled on the sofa while Tilde went through the patterns. She found one that was made of loops of white rhinestones. The center of it was designed to almost look like a flower with larger rhinestones at the center. It wasn’t as solid as the one Eggsy had, but it covered what she needed. She had it fabricate and put it on, locking it in two places in the back.

She went over to the sofa and sat beside Eggsy. “I have to wonder why collars like this even exist.”

“What d’you mean?”

“Well,” she leaned against him. “If Omegas were slaves before… whatever happened… why would these exist? I don’t… mean the collars in general, but there are so many that are more decorative than protective.”

“Maybe so Alphas could show ‘em off?”

“Maybe.”

He shifted against her, a little uncomfortably. It wasn’t so much that he minded the contact, he just… wasn’t sure why she was doing it. It wasn’t sexual by any means and it wasn’t like when he’d taken her hand to help her feel safe.

She looked up at him and then sat up. “I take it that isn’t something that’s acceptable here?”

Eggsy shook his head, a little confused.

“Omegas just piling together?”

“Oh. Well… I dunno. Grew up in a pack with only a couple of us, and… we didn’t really spend time together. Their husbands didn’t… like sharin’ ‘em unless they was in heat.”

She made a sour face and then settled back against the sofa. “I wouldn’t want to do anything you’re not comfortable with.”

He knew what she _wasn’t_ saying, that she was sure Merlin did enough to him that he wasn’t comfortable with. “No, it’s… it’s fine, I just wasn’t expectin’ it.”

"Alright," she said as she leaned against him again. "Just tell me if it stops being alright."

"Are there… other things Omegas do?"

She chuckled. "I don't know if it's because of how we're treated or not, but… the ones I've known have always been affectionate with each other. A lot of touching, snuggling, comforting. All of it platonic, mind you." She paused thoughtfully. "We don't mark each other, but we take care of each other. I'm surprised you hadn’t learned that, since you've been living in such a progressive pack."

He heard the sarcasm in her voice and ignored it. "Well, I sorta went from my old pack to staying with Merlin and Harry. I hadn't really… gotten to know much of anyone before I went into training to see if I could make it into the Guard."

She looked up at him. "What's that?"

He grinned. "Just what it sounds like. I woulda been the second Omega in it."

"Why didn't you make it?"

"Cos they found out about you and, um, the other one. They needed an Omega who wouldn't get aggressive with strange Alphas. The one in the Guard does."

She hummed thoughtfully. "It really does sound nice here… Too nice, really."

He laughed softly and relaxed against her a bit. He understood her feelings that it sounded too good to be true. There were mornings during the mission that he’d woken up with that same thought. Hell, there’d been mornings in the _barracks_ that he’d woken up feeling like that. There was still part of him waiting for that to be true, and _he_ hadn’t spent… however long she’d spent on the run.

04

Something had woken him. It took a moment to remember what had happened. Harry and Merlin had gone off to bed before they had, and Tilde had asked him to stay with her. So he’d gotten an extra blanket and they’d piled into his bed. He’d fallen asleep holding her and his arm was still around her. Her hands were clutching his arm and he could hear how shallow her breath was.

“My apologies,” he heard Harry say in a soft, soothing voice. “I only came in here to wake up Eggsy.”

“‘cha need?”

Harry turned the bedroom light on before answering. With both Omegas awake - and one of them afraid - there was no point in keeping the light off. “There’s a round table this morning and your presence is required.”

Eggsy blinked a couple times, both from the light and some mild confusion, and then figured it must just be more debriefing. “Sure, Harry. Be up in a minute.”

“Thank you. I’d like you in my office within a half an hour.”

“‘kay.” He waited until Harry left before turning his attention to Tilde. “You’ll be alright. Merlin’ll be at work, too, and the flat door locks.”

She nodded. She didn’t like the idea of being alone in the flat, in this compound full of strange potential threats. It was better when Eggsy was with her, just because they had him believing that they were all Good and Kind and Safe. She didn’t think they’d do something to her with him around.

“It’s just a meeting,” he reassured. “I won’t be gone all that long.”

He showered, dressed, and went down to Harry’s office. He knocked on the door and went in when Harry called to him. Harry looked at the clock on the wall and then back at Eggsy. Eggsy gave the clock a guilty look. He hadn’t checked the time when he’d gotten up or when he’d left the flat.

“‘m late, ain’t I?”

“A few minutes,” Harry nodded and then smiled. “Try not to make a habit of it the way I do.”

Eggsy grinned and took a seat. “‘m I gonna be down here often then?”

“I would like that, yes.” He pushed a folder across the desk to him. “This is Merlin’s report on your mission. It’s rather detailed, especially in regards to your actions.”

Eggsy opened the folder and looked at Harry. “Is that… good or bad?”

“Good,” Harry said. “Very good, actually, especially considering how little training you really had before I sent you out.”

Eggsy flushed lightly. “Wasn’t like I did all that much.”

“No?” Harry asked, his brow rising. “You were willing to sacrifice your safety for the good of the mission, you acted a part you hate for it, you helped convince a rescued prisoner to return here with her information.”

“Well…” he shrugged. “I was just doin’ what I had to.”

“Yes, and that isn’t a quality that everyone who tries for the Guard has or is capable of learning.” Harry closed the folder and pulled it back to himself. “It’s actually why I wanted you down here this morning.”

“Oh…?”

“While you and Merlin were gone, one of the members of the Guard stepped down. I’d like to offer you his position.” He held a hand up to stop Eggsy from answering immediately. “Before you answer me, there _are_ some things you should know.”

“Alright…”

“First, this is not going to be a popular decision among… likely quite a few of the Knights, and I am speaking beyond your being an Omega.”

Eggsy shook his head. “Why?”

“Simply because the one who stepped down was Gaheris,” Harry said. “You see, among the tales of King Arthur, there are something along the lines of 150 knights. There are, excluding Arthur, only twelve who are in most of the stories. The Knights that bear _those_ titles have always had a seat at the Table. They… make up Arthur’s council, if you will.”

Eggsy watched him for a moment. “And… Gaheris was one of ‘em?”

“Yes.”

“Well… why not have someone else, then? I mean, I ain’t even fully trained on weapons an’ fightin’ and shit.”

Harry nodded. “Not to mention the coursework, which… you _will_ be finishing.”

“Yeah! So… why me?”

“You may have noticed that half of the table is made up of Alphas, primarily Alpha males. There are two women and four Betas. Putting you at the Table would give me a second Omega.”

“So… I’d only be getting there cos-a positive discrimination.”

“I suppose that’s one way to look at it,” Harry admitted. “Another way would be to realize that, as pack leader, I cannot have my council be solely Alphas and Betas. I _need_ the perspective of Omegas, as well.”

Eggsy shrugged and looked away from him.

“Well, I suppose I can always fill the seat with an Alpha and you can work up the ranks. I’m sure by the time I step down or lose a challenge, there will be a seat open.”

Eggsy rolled his eyes. “Gonna tell me next that the pack’ll suffer if I don’t?”

“I wasn’t, no, but I suppose it could. Generally, the new Arthur is one from the Table. Forcing them to confront an Omega’s point of view - especially one who didn’t grow up here - could be good for them,” Harry said and then paused for a moment. “It’s up to you, of course.”

Eggsy got up and walked to the back of the office. He looked up at the pictures that were on Arthur’s wall. They were pictures showing the Round Table. He hated the feeling that he was just being _handed_ this, but… he also could see Harry’s point.

“You’ll tell me if I ain’t doin’ well enough?”

“Of course.”

Eggsy was quiet for a moment. “Alright. I’ll do it.”

05

The meeting went quickly enough; it was little more than Arthur announcing that Eggsy had agreed to take Gaheris’ spot and the reassigning of several duties while Eggsy worked on his training. Eggsy had seen the tension on the faces of a couple Alphas, but they hadn’t said anything. He knew they’d be watching his every fuckin’ move, just waiting for a chance to jump on him. He wasn’t gonna give that to ‘em.

He caught up with Lancelot on the way out of the conference room. “So who’s left?”

“Darcey, Lynn, Ryan, and Jamal.” Lancelot offered him a slight smile and a chuckle. “I suppose you’d like me to be a few minutes late starting them this morning?”

“Yes, I would.”

Lancelot nodded toward the barracks and Eggsy headed there at a jog. He slowed to a stop when he got to the barracks door and opened it slowly. He heard the four proposals inside scrambling to attention and grinned to himself.

“News travels fast, dunnit?” he asked as he walked into the barracks.

Jamal broke into a laugh at the recruits relaxed out of attention. “Back finally? Mission go well?”

Eggsy faltered and shook his head. “How’d you know…?”

Jamal grinned and the four recruits exchanged a look. “Well… you up an’ vanished the same day _Merlin_ up an’ vanished. Wasn’t no one sayin’ two words where Merlin was, which meant mission. So figured you went with ‘im.”

Ryan went over to Eggsy and threw an arm around his shoulders. “We ain’t gonna ask _what_ it was; we know he’s-” He paused, his head tipping to the side, and he grinned. “ _Who_ did _that_?”

Eggsy looked away with a grin, his hand covering the scar from Merlin’s bite. “Well… was for the mission.”

“No _shit_?” Jamal said, coming over to look at the scar. “ _Merlin_? An’ Arthur’s alright with that?”

The two women joined them and Eggsy felt himself flushing. He let Jamal pry his hand away from the scar and shrugged.

“Like I said, was for the mission.”

“Is Arthur going to let you return now?”

Eggsy looked at Darcey and grinned. “Noo… and really, wouldn’t be fair, yeah? I mean… I ain’t been here for like a month now.”

Jamal shrugged. “Well, maybe there’ll be another opening before long.”

“There _should_ be one,” Lynn said. “I heard them talking about Gaheris stepping down. They just have to confirm whoever Arthur’s chosen to take his place.”

“Oh, Arthur did that already. This mornin’, actually.”

Jamal’s brow rose. “ _Merlin_ tell you that?” he teased.

“No, Arthur, when he offered me the seat.”

“Yeah, okay,” Jamal laughed. It only took him a moment to realize that Eggsy wasn’t laughing and didn’t look like he was joking. “ _Oh_. Oh, _shit_.”

Darcey sighed a groan and tipped her head slightly. “There’ll be people, both in the Guard and not, who’re going to… take issue with that.”

Eggsy nodded. “Yeah, I know. That’s… kinda why Arthur wanted me to do it.”

“Well, we’ve got your back, mate,” Ryan said. “Jamal and the others’ll be your personal fuckin’ entourage if they gotta.”

Jamal laughed. “Jamal and the others, huh?”

“Well, yeah. I’ll be in the guard.”

“The _fuck_ you will. My scores’re better’n yours.”

“Lynn’s are better than yours, too. Fairly certain it’s mostly between the two of _them_ at this point,” Darcey laughed. “But I’d wager you’ve an ally in whoever _does_ get through.”

Eggsy grinned. He hadn’t expected otherwise, not given how they’d been with him before he’d left the program, but… but it was still a good feeling, hearing an Alpha talk about how he’d have allies. Especially when he already knew he’d made a bunch of enemies. 


	8. Chapter 8

01

It had been a couple days, and Tilde had been _greatly_ enjoying having a bed every night and not being hungry. She wasn’t sure about Harry and Merlin yet. Sure, they’d been decent to her. They hadn’t touched her and didn’t leer at her or threaten her… but Merlin _had_ brought that fucking collar back. She had no idea where it had gone to and no one had said. With another pack, that wouldn’t have worried her quite so much. But this one had fabricators and a fairly limitless energy source.

Eggsy hadn’t seemed bothered by it; she hadn’t heard him bring it up. Of course, she knew she wasn’t privy to their every conversation. But Harry had been letting Eggsy do his coursework in the flat, so he _was_ around her most of the time. She figured if they _had_ talked about it, it had either been at night or down in one of the morning meetings Eggsy went to.

He had been letting her look at his course books. It wasn’t just bullshit work. There was stuff on strategy, pack law, pack history, and a number of things specific to the Guard. She assumed that a lot of what he was learning was stuff he would have learned had he grown up in the pack. 

She’d taken to reading the law books that pertained to the civilian members of the pack. Everything was spelled out; hierarchy, civilian duties in case of attack, treatment of Omegas, codes of conduct. There was a volume that broke the laws down into more simplified language; from the look of it, it was something of a school text. It made it sound like… well, like what Eggsy thought this pack was. But… she knew all too well the difference between words and actions. 

She was currently reading over the civilian duties. It was interesting to her that everyone in the pack was expected to have a certain level of martial knowledge and weapon proficiency. Even Omegas, although they weren’t expected to have as much as Alphas and Betas.

She looked up when she heard the door open. Eggsy had gotten back from his training session; his hair was still wet from his post-training shower. He flopped down on the sofa beside her and leaned against her; she shifted enough to lean against him.

“You know,” he began, “if you wanna make anything for your room… Well, my room, I guess, but it’s yours for the time being.”

She bit her lip and grinned. “I made a lamp earlier. It’s like one I had back when I had a home.”

“Are there other things you want from when you had a home?”

She shrugged. “I’m only going to be here for a few weeks.”

“And? Ain’t like I can’t toss it in a reclamator after.”

“True…” she said. “We’d have to go down to the stores…”

“That’s fine,” he grinned. “I’ll help you carry it back.”

She shook her head. “I won’t be _that_ heavy.”

“What is it?”

She shrugged, looking a little embarrassed. “A nightstand.”

He watched her for a moment. “What’s so bad about that?”

“We-ell…” she was quiet for a moment. “It’s very… puppish.”

He laughed softly. “Ain’t nothin’ wrong with that. Bein’ a pup was a better time, yeah?”

She was quiet for a few moments. Things really _had_ been better then. She’d just been the daughter of the pack Alpha then. She hadn’t been another Omega to try and claim. She’d been… She sighed softly.

“That’s it entirely, yes. It’ll be nice to… feel like that for a little while.”

“Let’s go make it then,” he said as he got up. 

She saw the way he was looking at her and _knew_ he was thinking about telling her she could always stay. She didn’t want him to tell her that again; she knew she was weakening. The bed, the food, the promise of a better life. It was almost too appealing, and she was glad when he didn’t say it.

02

It took them the better part of an hour to find a pattern that looked similar enough to what she wanted. They spent another twenty minutes customizing it until it was as close as possible. Eggsy had to admit that it _was_ really puppish. It was pale lavender with heart-shaped knobs and lilies stenciled on the sides. 

He picked it up and carried it for her, despite her protests. They started back to the flat and weren’t even halfway there when she grabbed the nightstand away from him. He laughed and gave it a playful tug before letting her keep it. 

It wasn’t long after when they heard a call behind them of: “Omega.”

Eggsy rolled his eyes. He recognized Charlie’s voice. “Just keep walkin’,” he muttered.

She shifted her eyes to him and nodded once. “Alright.”

“Omega! When your _better_ speaks, you _stop_.”

They heard the Alphas coming and Eggsy stopped and turned toward them. It was all four of them and they looked ready for a fight. Eggsy wasn’t really surprised. He’d known what happened in the barracks would bite him in the arse someday. He pulled his lips back in a snarl.

“Guess you didn’t hear,” he growled. “I’m in the Guard. Makes me _your_ superior.”

Charlie rolled his eyes. “ _That_ was because of positive discrimination.”

Eggsy shrugged. “Yeah, I’m aware of that. But…” He gave the Alpha his most shit-eating grin. “ _I_ wasn’t the first one eliminated.”

The Alpha snarled and the four of them fanned out. Eggsy looked from one to the other. The training he’d gotten might let him take out one of them, but that was only _if_ he could get one of them alone.

“Go back to the flat, Tilde,” he said, keeping his eyes on Charlie.

The Alpha smirked at him. “Ahh, afraid we’ll get at your little bitch?”

Eggsy smiled slowly. “Sorry, who’s the bitch here? The Omega… or the Alpha who needs three of his mates to take one on?”

Charlie snarled. “Stay out of it, boys.”

The three exchanged a look and then stepped back. Charlie rushed Eggsy, and Eggsy dodged away from him. Charlie had a lifetime of training from growing up in a military pack; Eggsy had a lifetime of dodging his own packmates. It was almost enough to make up for the Alpha’s training. Almost. But the Alpha quickly got the upper hand and knocked Eggsy down.

They tussled, Charlie landing blow after blow while Eggsy did his best to keep him from hitting his target and get his own in. He managed to get the Alpha off-balance and scrambled out from under him. He needed to get to his feet; _needed_ to if he was gonna have a chance against him. 

But the Alpha was on him again before he could get up. The Alpha quickly got him by the wrists and pinned him on his hands and knees. He couldn't move back because of the Alpha's legs; couldn't move forward because of his arms.

And then he felt the Alpha grinding against him as he 'proved' his dominance. Eggsy felt bile rising in his throat and his cheeks flaming. Perhaps the worst part was the instinctual reaction he felt to submit to the showing of dominance. Not because he _wanted_ to, but simply because it was an Alpha showing his dominance. He closed his eyes and fought the instinct, because he would _not_ make that sort of showing to _this_ fucker.

“You aren’t going to have Merlin’s protection forever.”

The near growl was right at his ear. Eggsy could feel the Alpha’s breath on his neck and he shuddered with revulsion. He tried to buck the Alpha off of him, but the Alpha was too well prepared for it.

“He was only fucking you for the mission, and once you go into heat again you’ll be up for grabs. And believe me, bitch, I _will_ claim you and make your life such hell you’ll wish you’d never left home.”

Eggsy’s lips pulled back in a snarl. That was never going to happen. _Never_. But how to show the Alpha that he could, and would, fight him every step of the way if that was what it took? After a moment, he let himself go limp beneath the Alpha. The Alpha’s hold on him loosened as Charlie assumed that he was _finally_ showing submission.

“You see, boys,” he said sounding very self-satisfied, “that’s all it takes with a bitch who doesn’t know her pla-”

The rest of it was lost in a howl of pain as Eggsy bit down on Charlie’s arm. He broke though skin and flesh, his mouth filling with blood. And he held on even as the Alpha tried to shake him off. It was only after a hard blow to his temple that he opened his mouth, the blood pouring from between his lips.

He smirked at the bleeding Alpha. “Seems like you’re still the _bitch_ here.”

Charlie snarled at him and then all four Alphas were on him, kicking and stomping at him. He curled up protectively, wrapping his arms around his head, and bit down on any cries of pain. They might have the upper hand and he was gonna end up in Medical, but he was _not_ gonna give them the satisfaction of making him cry out.

It felt like forever before Eggsy heard yelling from somewhere around them and felt the Alphas slowly stopping. He felt hands on his shoulders and he snapped away from them, snarling at the touch. It took a moment for James’ face to break through the haze of pain and anger and fear. He looked beyond James and saw Alistair herding the four Alphas away.

“Can you get to your feet?”

Eggsy nodded and slowly rose. He waved off James’ attempt to help him and watched until the five Alphas were out of sight, and then he let himself sink against James. James slipped an arm around him and helped him stay upright.

“Let’s get you to Medical.”

“Yeah, good plan.”

03

Eggsy leaned against James for support the entire way. He felt dizzy and the corridors kept spinning. He hurt everywhere, but… fuck, it was _worth_ it to have bitten that piece of shit. He might have completely lost the fight but, hey, he knew he was gonna.

He looked up when they entered into the Guard area. He was about to ask why they were going to the Guard’s Medical and then it hit him that Charlie would be at the main Medical station. He struggled against James to stand on his own and James tightened his grip.

“There’s no need to push yourself right now.”

Eggsy sighed irritably but stayed leaning against James. They went into Medical and James got him set in an exam room before going for a doctor. He came back with one of the Omega doctors and stayed outside of the exam room.

Eggsy was… glad… James had thought to get one of the Omega doctors. He didn’t think he could take being around another Alpha just now. He undressed so the doctor could examine him. He started to relax as he was examined and realized the doctor was projecting his scent.

The doctor was examining his side, where bruises had already formed, when the exam room door opened. The scent of _furyangerworry_ of an Alpha hit Eggsy; he snarled and tensed. And then he realized it was _Merlin’s_ scent mixed with the _furyangerworry_ and his snarl vanished. 

He felt Merlin’s hands on him and he went limp in submission. He let himself be pulled close and felt Merlin rubbing his cheek against his own. Merlin ran his hands over Eggsy neck and chest and sides before curling a hand under his chin and making Eggsy look up at him.

“‘m sorry,” Eggsy muttered

Merlin shook his head. “I’m not angry with you, lad.” He touched the blood stain on Eggsy’s mouth. “Are you still bleeding?”

Eggsy grinned a little, sheepishly. “Ain’t mine. Sorta… bit Charlie.”

“You… _bit_ him?”

Eggsy shrugged. “We got in a fight.”

“And _he_ did this to you?”

Eggsy shrugged again. “Him and his mates.”

“Sir, if you don’t mind?”

Merlin looked at the doctor, his eyes narrowing slightly and his lips pulling back. His Omega was hurt and he was _possessive_. All of his instincts were screaming at him to chase off anyone who wanted to get close to Eggsy. He took a couple slow, deep breaths and forced himself to step back enough for the doctor to finish his examination.

Once the doctor was finished, he nodded to Merlin and went to a fabricator. He brought back a disc about the size of his palm. He pressed it to Eggsy’s side, over his ribs, and it lit up red along the rim.

“He has a couple broken ribs,” the doctor said. He kept his eyes on Eggsy, despite directing his words at Merlin. An Alpha, agitated over their injured Omega, was something to keep soothed; a simple way was to let them feel in control of the situation. “He’ll need to wear the knitter for a day, maybe two. The light will change to green once he’s healed.”

“Is that all?”

He shook his head. “No, sir. He almost certainly has a concussion and he may have an injury to his kidney.” He heard Merlin start to growl and held a hand up. “He’s alright, but if the dizziness doesn’t go away, you need to bring him back here. The same for if he becomes nauseous, starts vomiting, or starts passing blood. And I’ve no doubt Eggsy will tell you if that happens.”

“Yeah, course I will.”

Merlin nodded, his hand going to the back of Eggsy’s neck. He wanted to take his Omega home and lick his wounds. Well, perhaps not _literally_ , but tuck him into bed and take care of him; dote on him; get him whatever he needed. It was a little frustrating that there was little more he could do, that he couldn’t just _fix_ the problem. 

Eggsy looked at Merlin. “Can we go home?” It wasn’t how he wanted to phrase it, but he thought it best to follow the doctor’s example for the moment.

Merlin slid his hand from Eggsy’s neck to his cheek. “Can you walk?”

Eggsy scoffed and grinned. “Yeah.” He put his hand over Merlin’s own and tipped his head against it. “I’d tell you if I couldn’t.”

Eggsy got off of the exam table and got dressed. He had to stop half-way through because of a wave of dizziness, but he was otherwise fine enough. He did, however, noticed Merlin’s very sharp gaze as the Alpha took note of every little sign of injury.

Merlin offered him an arm and Eggsy shook his head a little. Once they were out of the Guard area, then he’d accept it. He was a lot less dazed and a bit steadier on his feet; he thought he could make it that far without help.

They left Medical and Kay was waiting for them. He was an older Beta and looked to be Harry’s age or close to it. He approached them when he saw them coming and nodded to both of them.

“Merlin, Gaheris.”

“Something we can do for you?”

He offered Merlin a wan smile. “I have been sent to bring Gaheris to Arthur’s office.”

Merlin shook his head. “Arthur can deal with him later. He needs-”

“To go to Arthur’s office,” Kay said, overriding him. “Hesketh Sr. is up in arms, accusing Gaheris of abusing his position to assault a civilian member of the pack.”

“That’s bullshit,” Eggsy snapped.

Kay shook his head slightly and shrugged. “I wasn’t there. All I know is he’s screaming for your head.”

Eggsy groaned and leaned against Merlin. He just wanted to go home and curl up on the sofa. Maybe have something hot and sweet to drink and doze in a pile with Merlin and Harry and Tilde until he didn’t feel like utter and complete shit. He wondered how bad it was going to be, how much like the father the son was. But… at least he’d be dealing with them through Arthur. He’d get a fair shake that way if nothing else

04

They went to Arthur’s office and Eggsy saw that it was not just the Heskeths and Harry; Charlie’s three mates and Tilde were in there. Eggsy hesitated for a moment and then went over to Arthur’s desk, where Arthur and Hesketh Sr. were waiting. Charlie was sitting away from his mates (and that struck Eggsy as _odd_ ) and had his arm in a fuckin’ sling, as if their fight had left his arm completely unusable. Eggsy rolled his eyes at that and then turned his attention to Arthur.

“I want this little _bitch_ to pay for what she did!”

“So… what’d I do?”

Hesketh Sr. snarled at him. “You used your position to intimidate my son and assault him.”

Eggsy laughed. “Wait, wait, wait. _I_ intimidated _him_? An Alpha?”

“Gentlemen,” Harry said mildly. “Let us proceed like _civilized_ people.”

Eggsy nodded. “Of course, sir.”

“That’s a rather serious accusation,” Harry said. “Would you like to tell me how an Omega - especially one who grew up the way Eggsy did - intimidated an Alpha? I _am_ rather curious.”

“My boy knows the Guard are above the civilians, which he _wouldn’t_ be if it wasn’t for her,” he nodded sharply at Eggsy. “He respects the chain of command and knew the trouble he’d be in for fighting a member of the Round Table.”

Eggsy gaped at him. “Charlie got thrown out on his arse for refusing to follow orders coming from an Omega. And for someone who ‘respects the chain of command’, I seem to remember him sayin’ that Lancelot got in on his back.”

Hesketh Sr. gave Eggsy a cold look and sneered at him. “ _You_ certainly got in on your back, and considering that Arthur was the one who proposed the both of you, it certainly seems to be a possibility.”

“If you want to challenge my authority,” Harry somehow managed to keep the growl out of his voice, “then challenge me _directly_ and not through an Omega.”

“My apologies, Arthur.”

Eggsy fought to keep from rolling his eyes. He could _hear_ just how sorry the man wasn’t. “I’m well aware that I’m at the Table cos-a positive discrimination, but I got _in_ to the Guard because of my actions on a mission, not on my back.”

“What is it you want, Hesketh? I assume you’d like to see Eggsy expelled from the Guard.”

“I want her banished.”

Eggsy snorted. “If I’d used my position like you said, being expelled is the punishment, and if I assaulted him, it’s a period of confinement. Doesn’t comes up to banishment.”

He looked surprised that Eggsy actually knew that.

“Eggsy is correct, Hesketh.”

His lips pressed into a line. “I want a tribunal to decide.”

Harry’s brow rose. “Alright. I assume you’d like to be on it, so who shall our third be?”

He shook his head. “No, you’re too favorably biased toward her.”

“And you’re too favorably biased toward him,” Eggsy snapped with a nod at Charlie. “You want Arthur off it, fine, but I want _you_ off it, too.”

“It’s only fair,” Harry said before the elder Hesketh could object. “I assume you have no objections to Bors, Lamorak, and Gareth.”

Eggsy knew he wouldn’t; the three of them were Alphas. Eggsy’s only problem with it was that Lamorak and Gareth were already waiting for him to fail at something so they could openly object to his replacing Gaheris. He wondered how fair they’d be, how much they’d be willing to take into account _why_ he bit Charlie. But that also meant he’d have to… explain… in detail… what Charlie did to make him bite.

05

Arthur brought them all to the conference room and they each took a seat to wait for the three Knights. Arthur insisted on total silence from the lot of them while they waited. Eggsy understood the reasoning; it was to keep anyone from getting their stories straight before the tribunal.

It wasn’t long before the three Knights arrived. They explained that each of them would be called, in turn, to an office where they would be questioned. Charlie and Eggsy would be the last two.

Eggsy waited as Charlie’s mates and Tilde were brought in one-by-one. He found himself getting more and more anxious as time went on. Because it was him against an Alpha, who had three Alphas backing him up. How could he ever convince three Alphas who were already looking to oust him to take his word?

It was finally his turn and he went into the office. The three Knights were sitting on one side of the table and Eggsy took the seat across from them. They had a file of his medical records spread out on the table in front of them.

“So…” 

“The version young Mr. Hesketh and his friends tell is identical-”

“Yeah, let’s be shocked by that. They all went down to Medical together.”

Lamorak sighed irritably. “If you could keep from interrupting me, Miss Hart.”

Eggsy bit back a snarl at being called ‘miss’. It told him all he really needed to know about what the Knight thought of him. He was out of the Guard; he already knew it. “Very sorry, _sir_.”

“Their story is identical. The story, um,” he looked at his notes, “Tilde tells us is a bit different. We need to hear your version.”

He sighed. “Tilde and I were heading back to the flat and we heard Charlie calling ‘Omega’ and that when my betters speak, I should listen. I reminded him that I’m in the Guard, which makes me _his_ superior. He pointed out it was positive discrimination, I pointed out that _I_ wasn’t the first one eliminated.” He paused for a moment. “The four of ‘em came at me and I told Tilde to get back to the flat. Charlie called her a little bitch, I called him a bitch for needing three other Alphas to fight me.”

Bors coughed. It sounded suspiciously like a laugh to Eggsy.

“He told them to keep out of it and we fought. And…” Eggsy trailed off. “He… pinned me, words were exchanged, and then I bit him.”

Lamorak and Gareth exchanged a glance before the former turned his attention back to Eggsy. “As this is not how Mr. Hesketh put it, you’ll need to give us more.”

Eggsy crossed his arms and looked away. “He…”

“Yes?”

“He got me on the ground and… I managed to buck him offa me and get out from under him, but he… got on me again and pinned me.”

“How?” Gareth pressed.

“He… had his arms around mine and had me held by my wrists. And he… got on me… from behind.”

Lamorak’s brow rose. “He mounted you.”

“Yes. And he…” he shrugged.

“Simulated mating in order to prove his dominance?”

Eggsy’s cheeks flamed. “Yeah. That.”

“And what did he say to you?”

“That I wasn’t gonna have Merlin’s protection forever, and that he’d claim me and make my life worse than it was in my old pack.” He shrugged. “So I bit him, and the four of them started beatin’ on me.”

The three Knights were silent for a few moments before Gareth spoke.

“Do you have any proof of this? That Hesketh assaulted _you_?”

Eggsy rolled his eyes. “Cameras all over the place, ain’t there?”

“The camera in that corridor is broken. It’s scheduled to be fixed later this week.”

“Of fuckin’ course,” Eggsy snapped. “That’s _why_ they came at me there!”

“The thing is,” Gareth began, “what you are accusing Mr. Hesketh of is a much more serious offense.”

Eggsy rolled his eyes. “I didn’t _accuse_ him; you fuckin’ _asked_.”

“It’s still an accusation,” Lamorak said. “And without any proof, it… certainly adds weight to Mr. Hesketh’s claim that you are trying to use your position against him.”

Eggsy gaped at him. “You, I… _what_?” He shook his head. “I shoulda known. Shoulda just… I dunno…”

“And what is _that_ supposed to mean?”

Eggsy looked at Gareth. “That when it comes down to an Alpha’s word or an Omega’s, an Alpha will believe the Alpha every time.”

“There _is_ also your history with him.”

“My ‘history’?”

“Yes, I believe you agreed to act as his wife during training.”

Eggsy stiffened visibly and snarled at them. “Do you even know the fuckin’ _context_ of that? Do you know that I was very new here at the time? That he convinced me that there was _always_ an Omega to fuck and do the cleanin’ and shit? That he convinced me he’d keep the rest of them offa me if I did what and who he said?”

“Mm, we are aware of that, yes,” Lamorak said. “Is it at all possible that he took that agreement to be, mm, more valid than you’re portraying it as?”

“Oh, _fuck_ you,” he snarled at the Knight as he stood up. “I know they want me banished, but I know expulsion from the Guard and confinement is what I’m _supposed_ to be up for with… what he said I did.”

“And your accusation?”

Eggsy glared at the Knight. The Knight stood and kept his eyes locked on Eggsy’s own. He projected his scent toward the Omega. Eggsy fought to keep from backing down. He was… absolutely _furious_ that they’d make it seem like he’d _invited_ that shit. He wasn’t sure if it was just their own personal biases or if they just assumed an Omega who’d been raped repeatedly would just… be alright with that.

But… he couldn’t keep it up. He wasn’t James; he wasn’t _trained_ to be able to. It wasn’t all that long before he felt himself backing down, felt himself shrinking down a bit and fighting to keep his eyes on the Alpha’s own. He _had_ to look away and he lowered his head.

“If that’s all, sir, may I go back to the conference room?”

“You may,” Lamorak said as he sat again.

06

Eggsy went back into the conference room without another word. He sat down beside Tilde and Merlin, and he could _feel_ the smug look Charlie was giving him. He wondered just how bad it was gonna be now, how badly he’d just fucked himself. He felt Merlin’s hand on the back of his neck and he offered Merlin a weak smile.

It was only a few minutes before the three Knights joined them. They took a seat at the table and looked between Eggsy and the Heskeths. Eggsy couldn’t read their faces, but, after what they said, did he really have to?

“Before we state our decision,” Lamorak began, “is there anything that anyone would like to add?”

Eggsy shook his head but the elder Hesketh stood up.

“Sirs, I realize that calling for her banishment might be a touch extreme.”

“A touch?” Eggsy muttered.

“But I think we can settle this… a bit more amicably,” he smiled. “She agrees to leave the Guard now and, when she goes into heat again, she becomes my son’s wife for once cycle… unless she decides to remain longer.”

Eggsy snarled at him. “Thanks, I’ll take my chances.”

“Now, Eggsy,” he cooed, “think of it. Banishment involves twenty lashes, a brand on your forehead, and being taken out of Kingsman territory under pain of death if you return. Would spending three months with my son really be worse than that?”

“Yes. _Infinitely_.”

The elder Hesketh shrugged. “I tried.”

“Yes, we can see that,” Lamorak said slowly. He was not unaware of how Charlie’s smirk had grown. “I have to say, I _am_ disappointed. I never thought I would hear such a… blatantly false accusation in my career.”

Eggsy leaned against Merlin. He shoulda just kept his fuckin’ mouth shut. Shoulda just… come up with something they wouldn’t turn against him.

“After going over all the testimony and the other evidence we have, we’ve had to conclude that banishment is, indeed, the only appropriate punishment for this.”

The elder Hesketh smiled slowly and stood. “If I might, sirs, I’d like to request to be the one to administer the lashes. I know my son would like to be the one, but he _is_ incapacitated from what she did to him.”

Bors bit down on a grin. “Granted, with one caveat: if it’s determined that you are going easy on the prisoner, you _will_ be required to start again.”

“Oh, I’m sure I can handle that.”

Eggsy shuddered against Merlin, because there was no way he was getting out of this with just twenty. How long would they let it go on for? How many times would they let him start to go easy on him and begin again?

“Before sentence is carried out,” Lamorak began, “I would like to offer an apology to the young Mr. Hart.”

“ _Fuck_ your apology,” Eggsy snarled against Merlin.

Lamorak nodded as if he’d expected that. “We knew Charlie was lying about _something_ , but with the camera broken there was no way to prove it beyond how few injuries he had as compared to your own. The only thing we _could_ prove… was that you remain incapable of actually intimidating an Alpha.”

“What…?”

“It’s why we questioned you the way we did,” Gareth explained softly. “We needed you to be honestly angry, enough so you would challenge one of us and not back down from something that could be interpreted as a show.”

“And I have to say,” Bors added, turning his attention to the Heskeths, “your offer of mercy is… almost exactly what Mr. Hart told us your son said. Did you really think we wouldn’t force him to tell us everything?”

“Now, as requested, you may go with your son and administer his lashing.”

“Now, wait just a fucking minute,” the elder Hesketh snarled, “you have no grounds to banish him!”

“Actually, we do. He committed an act of sexual assault _and_ attempted to undermine the Guard with his accusations. Either one of those can result in banishment, generally at Arthur’s discretion. Both of those are… simply unacceptable and show a willingness to intentionally endanger his pack.” Bors stood. “Now, Arthur and I will escort you both and we will see to his punishment. And if any retaliation is made against Mr. Hart, that person will _also_ find themselves at the end of the lash.”

Bors and Arthur left with both Heskeths. Lamorak and Gareth turned their attention to Eggsy. The Omega was still leaned against Merlin, seeking comfort from his Alpha, and glaring at the both of them.

“You couldn’ta fuckin’ _led_ with it bein’ him and not me?”

“No,” Lamorak answered. “We needed their reactions recorded. Like I said, there is no proof of what he did to you.”

“Again, we’d like to offer our sincere apologies,” Gareth said. “We would hope that, in time, you could forgive us, and if not, that we can be professional with each other.”

“I can be professional,” Eggsy sulked.

“Merlin, after all he’s been through today, I think it’s well past time you took him home.”

Merlin helped Eggsy to his feet and slipped an arm around him. He’d wondered what they’d asked Eggsy that had gotten him so upset. As much as he wanted to have words with the two of them (and by ‘words’ he meant ‘fists’), he… understood their reasoning. He was just going to take Eggsy home, and care for him, and make him feel loved and understood. And there would be as much reminding that he’d been believed as he needed. And perhaps a showing of being intimidated by his Omega, just to make him laugh.


	9. Chapter 9

01

“Gentlemen, if that’s all…”

Arthur’s closing statement was generally just a polite nod and not normally taken up on. The things he brought to the Table were often things the others brought to him in private, to let him decide if they were worth consulting the other Knights about. And so he was more than a little surprised when Lamorak spoke.

“Sir, if I might?”

Arthur nodded once. “Go ahead.”

“Gaheris is, and forgive me, the only one of us to not earn a seat through traditional methods.”

“I-”

Arthur held up one finger and Gaheris fell silent.

“I don’t mean it as a reflection on you, simply that there _are_ ways we train on our way up that you have not had the chance to experience.”

“Yeah? Like what?”

“Different guard patrols, different stations. I _would_ add missions, but you’ve already proved more than adequate there.”

Gaheris scoffed. “Arthur and I been talkin’ about that. We agreed that I oughta wait until I’m done with the bulk of the coursework.”

Lamorak eyed him for a moment. “Do you mean to say you _don’t_ have a lot of that done?”

Gaheris stared at him. “Fuck man, I ain’t even been back a week.”

Lamorak shook his head. “I apologize; given your martial and weapons scores, I’d - incorrectly - assumed you’d gone through the coursework just as quickly.”

Gaheris grinned in spite of himself. He still didn’t like Lamorak, but he’d _been_ being professional toward the man. And now the Alpha was… complimenting him. But, dammit, he was still gonna be mad.

“Nah,” he shook his head. “Fightin’s one thing. I been doin’ that all my life. The bookwork is… going a lot slower. Don’t see why you couldn’ta just brought this to Arthur.”

“No?” Lamorak asked, his brow rising. “We are the highest members of the pack. There are things about this that _need_ to be considered.”

“Yeah? Like what?”

“I’m sure Lamorak only means things such as how much your training on different patrols and stations with lower ranking members could undermine your authority,” Arthur said.

Lamorak nodded. “Yes. We don’t want lower ranking Knights thinking that your position is simply honorary.”

“Gaheris and I have been discussing that.”

“Well, seeing as I’ve already brought it up, I have a suggestion for this.”

“Go on.”

“Have one of _us_ training him. Call it… training for a mission if you want to give a reason.”

Arhur nodded and sat back to consider it. With luck, Gaheris would be leaving in just over a week to go on another mission. That would delay his coursework and there wouldn’t be any real time to get him started on training. Lamorak wasn’t wrong about Gaheris’ weapon and martial scores; as long as he kept to the same sparring and training regimen that the rest of the Knights did - and he _would_ \- there was little reason to keep him on a training program for them.

“I find your suggestion acceptable. When Gaheris returns from his upcoming mission, he’ll start training on those. Lamorak, _you_ will train him on patrols; Gareth, on duty stations.”

Gaheris wanted to complain. Loudly. But he didn’t want to end up challenging Arthur. Instead, he just sulked. “Yes, sir.”

“Then it’s settled.”

02

“Fuckin’ hell, Harry.”

Harry bit down on a smirk that wanted to surface. Eggsy was holding out a cup of tea to him, a habit he’d gotten back into after returning, and he was sulking at the same time. No, not sulking; _pouting_. And it was absolutely adorable.

“I know, but I _did_ have good reasons.”

“Yeah?”

He motioned toward the sofa and they sat on it. Harry took a sip of his tea before explaining. “You have understandable problems with them, and I have no doubt that the two of them still hold some resentment toward you because of your position.”

“And puttin’ us together’s gonna help that, huh?”

Harry nodded once. “You will have to learn to rely on each other, to trust each other. It isn’t likely that anything will happen while you’re on patrol or at a duty station, but you need to be able to trust whoever you’re on with.”

Eggsy sighed; it was a very put out sound. “Yeah, that makes sense.”

Harry reached over and put a hand on the back of Eggsy’s neck. He started gently rubbing and Eggsy let his head tip forward with a soft sigh. Harry shifted his hand and started rubbing near the pressure points at the back of the skull. He felt Eggsy loosen up and go just a bit limp.

“Feel good?”

“Mm-hmm.”

Harry smirked to himself. If done properly, massaging like that can put the receiver in a very placid and compliant mood. He watched as he made Eggsy relax, waiting for him to be _just_ shy of compliant.

“Tip your head back,” he said softly.

Eggsy tipped his head back and Harry guided him back against the sofa. Harry gently slipped his hand out from under Eggsy’s head and returned to his tea. It was a few minutes before Eggsy said anything and, when he did, it was without opening his eyes.

“The fuck’d you do?”

“Little trick I learned. It’s truly amazing how one can manipulate another’s body if one knows how,” he chuckled softly. “I assure you, however, that my only intention was to sooth you.”

He turned his head toward Harry. “This time?”

Harry’s brow rose slightly. He looked at Eggsy, catching and keeping his gaze. “I would not use that trick to bed you.”

“You’re Merlin’s husband…”

“And, for the time being, so are you, Eggsy,” Harry said. “That does not, however, make you mine. Now, if this were to be something more than for a mission, there would be discussions we would need to have.”

Eggsy didn’t say anything for a moment. He… didn’t _want_ to be released when he went into heat again. But it was like Harry said, just for the mission. “Yeah…”

Harry eyed him for a moment. “Eggsy? What is it?”

“Nuthin’.”

“Don’t make me rub your neck again,” Harry threatened softly, without any real malice behind it.

Eggsy didn’t answer for a moment before sighing softly. “I… don’t want it to be just… for the mission.”

Harry nodded slowly and sat back against the sofa. “I can’t say I’m surprised. Do you know how Merlin feels about this?”

Eggsy shook his head. “Ain’t… brought it up with him.”

“Then we need to,” Harry said. “Although… not tonight.”

“Why not?”

Harry chuckled softly. “A scavenger team came back with the last few things we need to get another fabricator running.”

Eggsy shook his head. “Why not just… fabricate more? I never got that.”

“We can’t. It’s locked out in the programming and no one has been able to figure out where or how. I can, however, lock other things out, such as that collar you two brought back.”

“What happens when your access codes pass to someone else?”

Harry smirked. “Who said they’re under _my_ codes?”

Eggsy laughed softly. _That_ was one way to make certain the next Arthur couldn’t reverse the lock out. He watched Harry for a moment. The Alpha was projecting his scent, but Eggsy could smell the undercurrent: he was upset and trying to hide it. He wondered if maybe he shouldn’t have said anything, because if Harry was _upset_ then… that must mean Merlin had given him some hint that _he_ wanted this to be for more than a mission, too.

“Harry, you know I wouldn’t… Like I ain’t… Merlin’s _yours_ before I’m his.” Eggsy shook his head. “Even if he wants me, he ain’t mine to take.”

Harry reached out and stroked his cheek. “Merlin is his own man, Eggsy. If he wants to make your arrangement something more permanent, I’m not going to stop him.”

03

Merlin came back the next evening. Eggsy got him his coffee, but without the soft little smile showing that he enjoys taking care of his Alpha’s needs. And then he sat away from Merlin. He could tell that it confused and bothered his… _the_ Alpha. And it probably hurt him.

And he wasn’t unaware of how Harry’s lips thinned at every interaction he had with Merlin. He was quiet and polite, acting like an ideal Omega, but he was distant and cold about it. He knew that Harry had to know what he was doing, and why, but he didn’t let that stop him. 

He went to bed early and curled up on his side, as tightly against the edge as he could. He wasn’t even asleep yet when he heard the door open and the light switched on. He caught Harry’s scent and the smell of _anger_. Instead of opening his eyes, he just pulled the blankets over his head.

And Harry ripped them off of him.

“‘m sleepin’.”

“Bullshit,” Harry snapped.

Eggsy shivered. Not at Harry’s tone, but at the strength of his scent. The Alpha was projecting it and it was only a moment before Eggsy gave in to it and opened his eyes. He could see the anger in Harry’s eyes; anger, but not a threat.

“You’re actually mad ‘bout this?”

“Yes.”

Eggsy sat up. “But… it’s better this way, yeah? Merlin and I just… go our separate ways after the mission.”

“That isn’t fair to him,” Harry growled. “You, making this decision _for_ him rather than _with_ him.”

Eggsy shrugged and looked away. He probably wasn’t being fair, but… What was he supposed to do? Be the cause of his pack Alpha’s pain and sorrow? An Alpha who’d done nothing but treated him fairly and been good to him?

Harry stepped out of the bedroom and Eggsy heard him call Merlin. It was only a moment before both Alphas were in the bedroom. Eggsy rose and walked over to one of the chests of drawers. He picked at the things on top of it and then wandered a little, putting more space between him and them. It wasn’t an entirely conscious thing.

“You have something to say to him.”

“Yeah,” Eggsy shrugged. “Once the mission’s over, I’m… gonna go move in with my mum an’ dad.”

Merlin frowned slightly but nodded. “If that’s what you want.”

Harry watched Eggsy for a moment before sighing softly, irritably. “Eggsy.”

Eggsy shifted uncomfortably. Harry was still projecting his scent, trying to force him to submit to his will, and it was so _hard_ to not just do what he was being prompted to. He closed his eyes, trying to fight the instinct, the _need_. But then he just sighed. Harry was his pack Alpha; didn’t that mean he owed Harry his obedience?

“Fine,” he sulked. “I don’t want you t’let me go. I wanna… I wanna stay yours. I wanna belong to you. Do whatever… wifely things I’m supposed to.”

Merlin shook his head. “Then why the lie? Why act the way you have been today?”

He shrugged. “How’m I s’pposed to ask you to choose between me an’ Harry? I mean, Harry you love an’ me… Sure, maybe you like me, but a lot of it’s instinct, innit? And even if it wasn’t…” He shook his head. “I can’t do that to Harry.”

“I see.”

Eggsy winced as if Merlin had said something more than just ‘I see’. “You’re mad, ain’t you?”

“I’m a little put out that you weren’t planning on letting _me_ have a say in this.”

“Yeah, s’what Harry said,” he muttered.

“Harry? I want your thoughts on this.”

Harry tipped his head back, one hand seeking out a pocket. “As I told Eggsy, this is your choice, not mine.”

Merlin nodded slowly. That was… all he was going to get out of Harry. He ran a hand over his head. “I don’t suppose you would both be amenable to my not choosing between you?”

Harry’s brow rose. “To your… _not_ choosing?”

“It’s fine if you’re not, Harry.” Merlin put a hand on his arm and tugged him close. “You are my heart, and if I have to choose, the choice is simple.”

Harry smiled a bit. “I never thought you one for… sharing.”

“Neither… had I,” Merlin admitted. “But… Harry, yes, I love you with all that I am, but what I feel for Eggsy… that _isn’t_ just instinct. And it… started before the mission.”

“I was aware of that.” Harry chuckled and put his arms around Merlin’s neck. “Darling, it has been a _long_ time since you were able to keep your feelings hidden from me.”

They kissed and Eggsy watched for a moment before moving closer to them. He went to Merlin and pressed against his back; against his Alpha’s back. He and Harry could figure out how things between them would work later. For now, he was just going to be happy that they could both have what they wanted.

04

The next afternoon, Tilde was all but waiting at the door for Eggsy when he came home. He could tell she was tense, and underneath that, she was almost terrified. He was instantly concerned because he wasn’t sure _what_ could have happened that would have terrified her.

“I think I’m near my heat,” she told him quietly.

“You _think_?”

She shot him a sour look. “Excuse me for losing track. I’d been taking suppressants and then I ended up with Valentine and that… collar,” she shuddered.

“Then we’ll just go get you more suppressants. It’s not a problem.”

She shook her head. “That’s just it. They’d stopped working.”

“That can happen?”

“I guess,” she shrugged. “It happened.”

“Maybe you just got a bad one?”

“I don’t know. I’d taken a couple that didn’t work,” she sighed. “They fucked up my cycle and that’s about all they did.”

“Well… why don’t we go down to Medical? They might have something else to give you.” He could see the near panic in her eyes. “And _if_ they don’t, we can figure it out. No one’s gonna do anything to you. I promise.”

She went with him down to Medical and she explained her problem. The doctor was concerned, and curious. There was no real reason the suppressants shouldn’t work. The formulae had been fairly well perfected before the cataclysm.

“What I’d like… is to take some blood and run a few tests. Hopefully I can discover the root of the trouble. Whatever the cause, I’m sure we can find a way around it _and_ it may help us in the future.”

She nodded and let him take blood. She waited until he was gone before speaking quietly. “If he _can’t_ figure something out…”

“Don’t worry,” he said as he put a hand on her arm. “If he can’t, there’s ways of gettin’ through it, _without_ someone else gettin’ involved.”

She eyed him uncertainly. “Will that… work?”

“He says it will,” Eggsy shrugged. “Never tried it myself. But you’ve… gotten yourself through ‘em before, yeah?”

She shifted uncomfortably and looked away from him. “Until… the suppressants stopped working, I hadn’t had once since I was fourteen. And then I had two… back to back. I was still in the middle of it when I was caught. I don’t… know how long it was until he sold me to Valentine.”

Eggsy’s eyes widened slightly. “Oh.”

“Yeah.” She smiled a little, weakly. “So I’ve never really _had_ to get myself through them, and I think it’s… understandable… why I don’t want…”

“Totally understandable,” he said. “And you ain’t gotta worry ‘bout Harry and Merlin. Neither of ‘em were willin’ to take advantage of me.”

“Obviously. It wouldn’t look good for them in a pack like this if there was an Omega screaming in their flat.”

“Wasn’t even that,” he chuckled. “I’d told Merlin if he rescued me, I’d do whatever he wanted. We stopped at, like, a bunker or somethin’ between my pack and here, and I was… fully expectin’ it and he didn’t lay a hand on me. When we got back, I just assumed that I’d have to obey his husband same as him, so I offered myself to Harry. I was naked and in his bed at the time, and I could see that he wanted to… but he wouldn’t.”

She stared at him because _what_ Alpha left a naked, somewhat willing Omega in their bed without fucking them? Harry was… clearly just the exception to the rule, and if that was the case, he’d expect his… did they consider Merlin his wife or his husband?... whatever they called him, Harry would expect Merlin to behave similarly. Maybe she could… actually get through it safely. She was about to - hesitantly - say as much when the doctor came back.

“I don’t see a reason for them to not have worked. Do you remember about where you were when you got them?”

She nodded. “I don’t know what the settlement was called, really, but it had a sort of… black market, kind of.”

“Can you describe it for a few of our scouts? I’m… very interested in finding out why they didn’t work for you.”

“I think I can, yes.”

“Thank you,” he smiled and handed her a bottle. “These are a weaker dose than normal suppressants. Start taking them tomorrow and take them for two weeks. Based on your hormone levels, you’re just over a week out from it. Come back in three days so I can retest your levels and be certain they’re working.”

She gave him a grateful smile. “Thank you.”

“And if it turns out that they don’t, we _do_ have other options we can fabricate for you, but I don’t believe that will be necessary,” he said and then turned his attention to Eggsy. “Could you ask Harry to come down here in the morning? If someone’s going to get me a sample of those suppressants, it’ll have to go through him.”

“Yeah, sure, no problem.”

05

“Is she alright?”

Eggsy nodded at Harry’s question as he shut the bedroom door. “Yeah, she’s just… gettin’ close to her heat and freakin’ out.”

Merlin was already in bed; he had his arms crossed under his head. “If she needs us to, we can always go stay with James and Alistair.”

Harry laughed. “ _You_ may go and stay with them for a week if you like.”

Eggsy frowned a little. “‘s wrong?”

“Let’s just say that James is rather enjoying his attempts at finding a method of blocking out his reaction to the collar’s effects.”

Eggsy snickered. He had to wonder sometimes how Roxy was an only child. “I don’t think it’ll come to that, anyway.” He watched as Harry stripped off his shirt and then cleared his throat. “So, um… how… is this gonna work?”

Merlin laughed softly and pat the bed. Eggsy stripped out of his shirt and trousers, and went over to the bed. He cuddled up against Merlin and breathed in his Alpha’s scent. He’d never expected to find safety in an Alpha’s arms… fuck, in _anyone’s_ arms, for that matter. And yet…

“How do _you_ want it to work?”

He shrugged and shook his head. “I dunno… I ain’t been involved with no one before. Willin’ly, I mean.”

Harry went over and sat on Eggsy’s end of the bed. He put a hand on the Omega’s calf. “And that’s why we need to know what you’d like. Do you only want to be involved with Merlin?”

Eggsy shrugged. “I dunno. I ain’t… I ain’t tryin’ to be difficult. I just… _don’t know_.”

“That’s fine,” Harry said softly. “That just means you’ll have to tell us when you _do_ know. Neither of us wants you doing anything you don’t want to.”

“And that means,” Merlin added, “even if you think it’ll make me happy if you do it.”

Eggsy shook his head a little. “You’re really fuckin’ weird, you know that?”

“Yes, I know I am.”

Eggsy gave him something of a mock pout. “No, I mean it. I mean, it’d be, well, _easier_ and you’d probably like it more if I got… really friendly with Harry. Then you wouldn’t have to figure out, well, how the fuck we’re gonna fuck.”

“That isn’t going to be difficult,” Harry said, biting down on a laugh. “I’ve little doubt in our abilities to communicate such a desire, and if problems arise, we’ll _talk_ about them.”

Eggsy buried his face against Merlin’s chest. It felt so _wrong_ to have two Alphas working around what _he_ wanted as much as their own wants. Especially when it was still hard to know _what_ he wanted. He wanted Merlin, and he wanted to be fucked by Merlin. But beyond that? He wasn’t sure.

He peeked out from where he was not-at-all hiding. Harry was watching him with such concern. He looked at where Harry’s hand was still on his leg and then up at Harry for a moment before he stretched his leg out. 

Harry let his hand slip up Eggsy’s leg as the Omega moved. The Omega stilled when his hand was halfway up Eggsy’s thigh. Harry didn’t move right away; he could tell Eggsy was uncertain and a bit nervous. He gently pried Eggsy away from Merlin’s side. Once Eggsy felt Merlin’s arm loosen, he went easily and stared up at Harry with wide eyes.

Harry watched him for a moment, gauging his reaction before he cupped Eggsy’s cheek with his hand. He watched Eggsy tip his head toward the hand and Harry nodded to himself. The Omega was willing, he was _curious_ , but he wasn’t really able yet to tell a pair of Alphas what he wanted them to do, at least not while he wasn’t in heat.

“I’m going to kiss you. Is that alright?”

“Yeah, ‘s fine.”

Harry very gently pulled him close and kissed him. He felt Eggsy tense up for a moment and then relax into it, the Omega’s mouth opening against his own. Eggsy’s arms went around his neck. Harry could feel that Eggsy wasn’t holding on quite as tightly as he held onto Merlin; it was something more uncertain, and that was fine.

He broke the kiss and ran his thumb along Eggsy’s lower lip. Eggsy was watching him almost a little uncertainly, but with a definite grin trying to form. They would have to take this slowly with him, and that was fine. He wasn’t the one Eggsy had attached himself to almost instantly.

“You enjoyed that?”

“Yeah.”

“Enough to do again or as a one time thing?”

“Enough to do again,” he said, the grin breaking through finally.

Harry pressed a soft kiss to his forehead. “Good boy,” he said softly. “So very good, telling me what you want.”

Eggsy shivered pleasantly. Kissing Harry had been very different from kissing Merlin. Merlin was… dominance, plain and simple. There was the demand of… of structure, maybe. Certainly there was a level of obedience he expected. It was clear enough in how Merlin held him, how Merlin touched and kissed him. He got away with shit, sure, but when he heard the command in Merlin’s voice, he listened, willingly and not because he was afraid of the Alpha.

Harry was… softer. He didn’t expect that it meant Harry wouldn’t show the same dominance Merlin did or that he would get away with more shit, but he thought Harry would be… more indulgent and gentler with him. At least for a while, and then he would hear the command in Harry’s voice, too.

And he would belong to the both of them.

06

The next afternoon found Harry in James and Alistair’s flat. Their flat felt larger than the others, but that was simply because they’d taken down the wall into what had been Roxy’s bedroom as a child; they’d turned it into a nice kitchen and dining space. Alistair kept several bottles of alcohol in there and got them each a glass of brandy while they settled in the lounge.

“Has Gaheris spoken to you at all about Tilde?”

James’ brow rose. He’d known Harry wanted to talk to them, but he’d thought _Harry_ had wanted to talk to them. “No, Arthur. Why do you ask?”

“She believes she’s become resistant to heat suppressants.”

“I’ve… never heard of that happening,” Alistair said.

“Nor have I.”

Harry nodded. “You’re familiar with the crossroads town the locals call Aventer?”

James nodded. “It’s half a day’s walk north and east of here, barring any unforeseen circumstances. I take it the ones she had came from the black market there.”

“Yes. From the sound of things, she was caught not long after the effects hit.”

“Convenient,” James said dryly. “If they were fakes, it would be a decent enough way to catch on-the-run Omegas. He may have been laying in wait. If he was the supplier, of course.”

“That was my thought.”

“We might be able to find his backtrail if we looked into it,” Alistair said. “Not that I doubt Tilde will share her information, but if we can find the man who sold her quicker…”

Harry nodded. “That was, also, my thought.”

“Well, I suppose I suddenly feel like running away,” James mused. “I’m sure Medical can make me look appropriately abused.”

Alistair tensed but he didn’t object. He didn’t like the idea of sending his Omega - well-trained or not - to try and sniff out the backtrail of someone who was clearly making a living on capturing and selling runaway Omegas.

“Find out what you can without rousing suspicions and bring back a sample of the suppressants. Medical’s curious to see if they _are_ some variant of the formula. Don’t do more than that if you can help it.”

“Of course,” James said, a mischievous gleam in his eyes. “ _Obviously_ you’re not going to send a single Omega to take on this… gentleman.”

“No, I wouldn’t send a single Knight to take him on,” Harry said. He knew he was being baited, if only in jest. “Although it would be a bit poetic if I sent you and Gaheris after him, once we were certain.”

“I’ve little doubt he’d be willing to go.” James eyed the clock thoughtfully. “I can have everything I’ll need fabricated within an hour. Medical will take a bit of time. I won’t go the direct route; I’ll take something more appropriate to a runaway. I should, however, still be back before the scouts return from the south.”

“Good.”

The timing would be perfect for Harry. If the supplier _was_ who they were looking for, they’d have an easier time finding his backtrail. If he wasn’t, Medical would still have the sample to analyze. And on the slim chance that the supplier managed to capture James, Alistair would go after him; there would be no stopping or slowing _that_. However it happened, they’d have Lee back before too long.


End file.
